


Downtime II

by DoctorpooandtheTURDIS



Series: 1287 [5]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:48:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 31,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24311566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorpooandtheTURDIS/pseuds/DoctorpooandtheTURDIS
Summary: After the gate beneath Hawkins Lab was closed, life slowly returns to normal.Well, as normal as normal can be for a supersoldier from the future, an AI-turned-human, and a teenager with mind powers.
Series: 1287 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1713106
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27





	1. Saved

Does John keep an eye on the Hargrove boy? Yes, because even though he’s barely approaching the end of his teens, the guy is _dangerous._ He proved he wasn’t unwilling to cause physical harm to accomplish his goals, even if those goals are as inconsequential as winning a gymnasium sport.

Still, John doesn’t fail to recognize the look in Billy’s eyes. They’re hardened, not like a soldier’s, but like someone who’s been kicked around, beaten, deceived, and betrayed by the world itself.

He knows it, because it’s the same look Serin used to get in her eyes.

Whenever she was offered praise, there was a searching look that came not far behind, as she tried to find out if the person offering that praise was masking something else behind it, as a pretense for something else. It didn’t matter if it was something as small as getting a math problem right, or correctly guessing the number of rounds left in a magazine after a couple of shots, no matter what, she just couldn’t accept it. Because she had already been burned by those she was supposed to trust. John had heard the rumors of course, that instead of being taken in the night and being replaced by a flash clone, Serin was willingly sold to ONI by her own mother.

It was a cruel thing, spread by children not in any position to be in the know. But he wondered if it had a grain of truth to it.

It’s the same look Billy gets, only slightly different. Billy is constantly searching, constantly on his guard, surveying every inch of the area he’s in. Almost like a predator. If you didn’t know what you were looking at, you’d mistake it for that.

But John knows better. It’s more like the gaze of a wounded animal, beaten and bloodied, but still trying it’s best to find a way out.

John’s never met Neil Hargrove, only heard his name whispered in hushed tones by Max. But every time the man crosses his mind, John finds his fists tightening dangerously.

There are very few things that make John angry. People who prey on those weaker than them are one of them.

Cortana places a hand (he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to that) on his arm.

“Don’t get involved.” She warns, blue eyes looking up at him. “It’ll just make things worse.”

John hates it, but he listens to Cortana. He can’t afford to get involved, because even though he, Cortana, and El now have identities, it could all go down the drain in one moment.

So he stays back, and just watches.

Until Max comes to visit El one day, and he catches the bruise barely concealed under her neck. The SPARTAN calmly demands to know what it is, and if it came from Billy.

Max said no. Billy, as much as she knows he hates her, would never get physical with her. It’s all Neil. The man got just a bit too angry, and Billy wasn’t nearby. Max was.

The SPARTAN’s fists clench.

He thinks Neil Hargrove’s gotten a bit too comfortable in his perceived strength.

John’s going to show him what _real_ strength is.

“John,” Cortana stops him with another hand on his arm before he can leave all the way, “Don’t kill him. We can’t afford the heat if you kill him.”

“Don’t worry.” John responds, gently moving her arm off his. “I’m just going to speak a language he can understand.”

****

When John arrives at the Hargrove house, his anger has simmered down some. Enough for the SPARTAN to take a step back and wonder if this is a mistake he wants to be making.

The SPARTAN stands there contemplating for a few seconds.

And then he hears the crash. The house’s walls are thick enough that a normal human wouldn’t register anything.

John does.

The sound itself, coupled with the reverb he could feel, is consistent with an adult falling to the ground after being struck.

John doesn’t know if it’s Billy, or the son-of-a-bitch’s wife. Regardless, John raises his fist, and bangs, not knocks, but _bangs_ on the door. Hard enough to make a dent in the wood.

It’s Susan Mayfield that answers it.

That tells John all he needs to know.

“Where is he?” John demands.

Susan, thankfully, doesn’t try to argue. “He’s back there.” She points down a hallway, voice shaky. Perhaps she just wanted it to end?

John pushed past her, walking down the hallway in question. He dimly registers that Susan is following behind him, trying to get the SPARTAN to stop.

He ignores her. He hears the second bang come from a room in the hall, and John pushed the door open.

Neil is standing over Billy, the younger man bleeding from his nose in a heap on the ground. Neil strikes Billy again, and John’s fists clench.

“Susan!” Neil yells. “I told you I would handle-“

Neil never gets to finish, because John picks up the man by his shirt, and pins him to the wall.

“Who the hell are you?” Neil grunts out. “Coming into my house, laying your hands on me!? I ought to call the police! Get your hands off of me!”

“Let me make something abundantly clear to you, Mister Hargrove.” John began, his voice filled with entirely tranquil fury. “I may be in your house, but you have _no_ power over me.” John turned to Billy. “You alright?”

Billy coughed, as he struggled to stand. “Yeah.” He grunted. “I’m fine.”

“Get out of here. Find some first aid.” John ordered. “I’ll take care of him.”

“You’re not going anywhere!” Neil commanded, pointing at Billy.

John slammed Neil against the wall once. Not enough to cause any harm, but enough to make the SPARTAN’s displeasure clear. “I don’t appreciate your tone, Neil.”

“You’re in my house,” Neil spat, “You better treat me with respect.”

“Or what?” John rhetorically asked. “You think that you’re arguing from a position of power. You’re not. And even if you were, respect is something you have to earn. You haven’t earned it.”

Neil didn’t have a response to that.

“So, here is what’s going to happen.” John began. “You are _not_ going to call the police, because it is a case you _will_ lose. Starting right now, you are going to stop laying your hands on Billy, on Max, and on Susan. And if I find you even so much as _thought_ about placing your hands on _any_ of them, _there will be no place on this earth safe enough for you to hide from me._ Understood?”

“Yes.” Neil spat.

“Yes _what?”_ John threw back in his face.

“Yes _sir.”_ Neil gritted.

“Good man.” John released him, moving to leave the house. On his way out, John passed by Billy, sitting down in his Camaro.

“What the hell did you do that for?” Billy harshly demanded, pressing an ice back to his face.

John frowned. “I figure you would’ve appreciated the assist.”

“Fuck no!” Billy retorted, with a grimace. “All you’ve done is made it worse. As soon as you’re gone, he’s going to come down harder than one of those anvils in that Looney Tunes shit.”

John stayed quiet for a moment, looking back at the house with a distasteful glare. “Why do you let him do it?”

“Excuse me?” Billy demanded.

“You’re a teenager, in the prime of your life, and you stand almost a full head taller than him.” John began, looking back at Billy. “He’s practically an old man, with barely any muscle left on him. In a straight fight, you could defeat him like it wasn’t anybody’s business. So, it’s because you’re either weaker than you look, which I have a hard time believing, or it’s because you’re _letting_ him do it, and letting him get away with it. So, I’ll ask again, why?”

“It’s none of your damn business.” Billy growled.

“It became my business.” John retorted. The SPARTAN sighed, and shook his head. “The way I’ve heard it, you’re a racist, homophobic, bully. And looking at the excuse of your father, I can see why.”

“Oh,” Billy scoffed, “Here we go with the moral high ground bullshit.”

“But, you’re still young.” John continued. “It’s not too late for you to change that. You can either stay the same person you’ve been to please your father, who is going to wind up hating you anyway, or you can make the effort, and try to become something better. The brother that Max deserves.”

Billy sighed, shaking his head, as he went for a cigarette. “Why does it matter to you so much anyway? Your wife beat the shit out of me.”

“Contrary to what you may think, she didn’t enjoy it.” John crossed his arms. “She has a big heart. And she hates seeing others in pain, no matter what they’ve done.”

“She sounds fuckin’ stupid.”

“She’s very forgiving.” John corrected. “Most of the time, at least... Billy,” John placed a hand on the teenager’s shoulder, against Billy’s grimace, “It’s not going to be easy. You’re going to find yourself slipping into old habits sometimes, and it’s going to be a conscious effort to change those habits. People are not going to forgive you overnight, they won’t forget, and there will be those who will never accept that you’re trying to atone. But, if you make the effort, genuinely try to change and make reparations for what you’ve done… Forgiveness will come, in time.”

“Shit…” Billy sighed, leaning back in the driver’s seat. “Where the hell am I even supposed to start?”

“That’s the hardest part.” John stated. “But if it were me… I’d work things out with Max first.”

Billy scoffed. “That’s easy for you to say, she fucking hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you.” John shook his head. “Just like how you don’t hate her. An effort, Billy, that’s all it takes.”

John knows that, no matter how hard you try, you can’t save everyone. He knows it all too well, in fact. Some people, no matter how hard you try, just can’t be saved. Don’t want to be saved.

But it never stops him from trying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, one of the things that I kind of didn't like about the third season was Billy's redemption. The whole time we knew him during season 2, he was nothing but a jerkass, and when season 3 rolled around, it was much of the same behaivor, and Max is suddenly in tears even though he's been nothing but a bully to her. It is very much cliche, but by the time I start putting out the season 3 installments, I want Billy to be someone worthy of a decent redemption arc, not the (in my own personal opinion) rushed one we got.
> 
> Of course, that all depends on whether or not I wind up killing him.


	2. Saturdays

Since the gate, Saturday mornings have become some of El’s favorite days. Cortana wakes her up, gently guiding her to the couch in the living room, and the two watch cartoons together. It’s their time, and John respects that, electing to work silently on repairing his armor, or refilling his MA5B’s magazines with rounds five hundred years too old for it. Despite her size, and the fact that if it were anybody else it’d be weird, El lays her head in Cortana’s lap, as the former AI gently rubs El’s head, the two getting lost in the television together.

The two had watched TV alongside each other, but never _together_.

The Transformers, at the moment, is their favorite. She sees the frame of Optimus Prime, and El smiles, as she is reminded of John. Strong enough to be kind, and tough enough to know when to be gentle. Despite the simple plots (it is just a cartoon) El finds herself entranced every time, the colorful antics of the robots from space being just the entertainment she needs, as she finds herself drawn into the simple conflict of good vs evil.

Cortana enjoys it too, but for different reasons. A few weeks ago, the TV in the cabin was her one escape, save for when John decided to bring her with him on ‘missions.’ Now, it was only one small facet of her world, a single drop in a veritable ocean of activities she had only once dreamed of doing. Eating, sleeping, breathing… all things that humans take for granted, are like a drug to her. There’s so much Cortana wants to do with her new existence, one of those things is spend as much time with El and John as humanly possible. Not that she’s going anywhere any time soon, she just wants to do it because she wants to do it. She couldn’t lie, she’d become very affectionate since waking up in her new body.

Not like that was a bad thing.


	3. Kiss and Make Up

“Are we ever going to talk about it?” Cortana asks John one morning, while El is still slumbering away in her room.

“Talk about what?” John questioned, refilling the magazines of his magnum at the other side of the room.

Cortana huffs from where she’s sat on the couch and crosses her arms. “You know what I mean. The big damn kiss we had before you and El went to go close the gate.”

John raises an eyebrow. “There isn’t anything to talk about. It was an emotionally stressful situation, and you were afraid I wasn’t coming back.”

Cortana looks at the SPARTAN sardonically. “Really? That’s all it was to you?”

“Yes.” John replied. “Should it be something different?”

“…no.” Cortana swallows, looking away from him. “Just… don’t worry about it.”

****

Thanksgiving comes, and they are invited over to the Byers once again. They bring El along, of course, and the girl immediately goes to Will’s side looking him over, over and over again, as though she’s scared she’ll find something to be worried about. After she finds what she’s looking for, she gives a big happy smile to the boy, and locks her arms around him.

Immediately after that, El releases him, stepping back, and she frowns and demands, and I quote; “When the hell are you going to ask me to the Snow Ball?”

Will is embarrassed, confused, and delighted all at the same time. “Well, I… you know… M-Mike and I, we-“

“Will?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t care. Just ask me already.”

“O-Okay… El?”

“Yes?”

“Will you go to the Snow Ball with me?”

El smiled. “Yes.”

Off to the side, the adults are gathered around, most of them looking on the scene like it were a movie.

“She’s already got him wrapped around her finger, that’s my girl.” Cortana quietly laughed. She turned to John. “How come you never give me any of that?”

“Buy me a drink, first.” John retorts.

“Oh, but it’s such hard work.”

“But worth it.”

****

Cortana finally gets angry with John over it. Every time she brings it up, he changes the subject, finds some way to weasel out of it, or just… pretends it didn’t happen. She doesn’t know what hurts the most. Legally, or so the documents say, they might be married. But he’s just as distant as he’s ever been. She can’t figure out why.

Just like she can’t figure out why it hurts so much.

“You never talk about it.” Cortana cries. “Every time I try you dodge the subject.”

“Cortana…” John calmly responds. “Why does it matter so much?” There it is. No hostility, no sarcasm, just genuine lack of knowledge as to why it’s such a big deal to her.

“You really don’t know?” She repeats, looking at him angrily. “After all that we’ve been through together? All that we’ve done and seen? You may have enhanced vision… But you’re blinder than I thought.” And before John has the chance to respond, she retreats into El’s room, and cries, the other girl in severe confusion as to what’s happening.

****

“She cried herself to sleep.” El told John, the SPARTAN going about cooking breakfast. Cortana was still isolated, away in El’s room.

John sighed, not out of frustration or exasperation, but regret it seemed. “I’m sorry.”

“Why don’t you talk to her about it?” El questioned, tilting her head.

John sighed and shook his head. “El, please…”

“Is it because you don’t like her?”

“You know that’s not true.”

El leaned back. “Well, it’s what she’s thinking right now.”

John shook his head. “If that’s what she thinks… I can’t change her mind.”

El scoffed. “Both of you are being stupid.”

John raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t want to talk about it even though she’s begging you to,” El began, crossing her arms, “She doesn’t want to just outright tell you what’s wrong. And neither of you want to fix it.”

“What do you suggest I do, hm?” John questioned.

“Talk to her.” El stated. “Listen. And _fix_ it. I just got parents… I don’t want to lose them because of a fight.”

John sighed.

****

John knocked on El’s door, standing there rather awkwardly.

“Who is it?” Cortana’s voice called.

“It’s me, Cortana.” John responded.

“Oh.” Cortana replied. “Go away, I don’t want to talk.”

“Cortana, please.” John knocked again. “If you talk… I’ll listen. I promise.”

The door suddenly whipped open, Cortana standing behind it. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I can keep it.” John retorted. “And I fully intend to.”

Cortana sighed, but stepped aside, letting John enter.

“So…” The SPARTAN awkwardly began, unsure of where to start.

“I’ll go first.” Cortana crossed her arms, staring up at John. “The kiss I gave you before you and El went to go close the gate… Did it really mean nothing to you?”

John stood silently, unsure of how to answer. “It was pleasant.”

“Is that all you can say?” Cortana inquired. “That it was pleasant?”

“I don’t know what else to say.”

“Of course you don’t.” Cortana looked down sorrowfully.

“Cortana,” John looked her dead in the eyes. “I want to understand, but I can’t not unless you tell me what’s so important about… a kiss.”

Cortana thinned her lips and looked out the window. “…It’s not just about the kiss.”

“Then what is it about?” John questioned.

Cortana crossed her arms, “…Do you remember when I stayed behind on High Charity? I was in there for one month, stuck entirely to the mercies of the Gravemind, and the whole time I was there, do you know what it did? It did _nothing_ but torture me, physically and emotionally. It could’ve took me out in a microsecond, but it decided to play with me like a cat playing with a mouse. It showed me the civilizations it’d consumed, it subjected me to pain for the very first time, and I couldn’t stop it… No matter what I did, the pain didn’t let up, didn’t recede. The only thing getting me through that was the idea that you would come back. …Something that wasn’t going to happen.”

“You knew I was going to come back for you.” John replied.

“I may have. But that was little comfort at the time.” Cortana retorted. “Every _second_ that went by was like a million years, and during all of that, I was being whittled away little by little… Until it got to the point where I was ready to crack and just give the Gravemind what it wanted. I knew it was going to kill me afterward, I would’ve had to be stupid not to realize that, but I didn’t care. I just wanted the pain to end. And then the Gravemind began to torture me with another hallucination, the sound of gunfire, and sharp pain as someone killed the Flood forms between them and I.”

“It was me.” John guessed.

Cortana nodded, still not looking at him. “At the end of my rope, all of my other hopes exhausted… I was ready to die. I welcomed it. And there you were. Like… an angel. I didn’t know if it was really you or not, but I didn’t care, and I just… started speaking.”

John remembered that. Cortana’s exhausted tone as he freed her from the Gravemind’s clutches stuck with him, even now. Hell, he remembered putting her chip back into his helmet, and shivering, feeling just how broken and damaged she was.

“I remember.” John nodded.

Cortana smiled. “And then you responded.” She began to cry. “I was so, so… ecstatic is not a strong enough word for what I felt when I realized that you were actually, truly there. That after everything else, all the other pressing matters you had to tend to, even if it was for the Activation Index, you came back for me… And I realized something.”

“What’d you realize?”

“Well… If this is my one chance to say it…” Cortana swallowed turned to him. “I love you, John.”

John froze. “What?”

Cortana let out a rueful chuckle, shaking her head. “There it is. I’ve gone and ruined it, haven’t I?”

“No!” John replied. “It’s just…” He trailed off, well and truly shocked for the first time. “I never expected you to be serious.”

Cortana raised an eyebrow, though the tears continued to fall. “What do you mean?”

“All the times you’ve flirted, made cracks… Even the kiss.” John outlined. “I thought it was just your personality.”

“Is that why you didn’t think it was a big deal?” Cortana questioned. “Because you thought it was more empty flirting?”

John shrugged. “In my defense, you’d been like that ever since we met. And I had no idea what kind of… effects your new body would have on you. I thought it was a ‘heat of the moment’ thing, given the way you were ogling my face.”

Cortana looked down, shaking her head with a slight smile. “Your face is the best part of you…” She sighed. “Damnit, if I had just told you what was wrong…”

“Don’t worry about it.” John cut her off before she had the chance to get her next sentence out, and the two fell into silence. “Besides, you’re wrong.”

“About what?” Cortana questioned.

“I didn’t go back for the Index.” John outlined. “I went back for _you.”_

Cortana looked to John, a confused, yet hopeful look on her face. “Me?”

“Yes, you.” John returned. “I didn’t even know you had it until you told me. And even if High Charity hadn’t crashed onto the Ark in the first place… I still would’ve gone back for you.”

“…Why?” Cortana questioned.

“You know why.” John replied.

Cortana, slowly walking up to the SPARTAN, reached up to gently cup his face. She closed her eyes, and pulled him down, pressing her lips to his. Unlike the last one, it was much slower, gentler, and Cortana relished every moment of it, before releasing him.

“…There.” Cortana said, as John straightened back up. “Do you think _that_ just empty flirting?”

“No.” John answered, giving a very, very miniscule smile.

“Hmm…” Cortana turned back to the window. “So… An AI-turned-human and a genetically and cybernetically augmented supersoldier… You think we can make it work?”

“It’s going to be weird.” John admitted. “You do share a face with Doctor Halsey… But I think we can give it a shot.”

Cortana smiled, and leaned into John’s shoulder.

“A shot…” She repeated.

And that’s exactly where it started.


	4. Tact

There’s still a lot El doesn’t understand. Sure, she’s gotten good at reading, at math, at drawing, and at speaking, but there is still so much more beyond her grasp. In some respects, she’s wise beyond her years.

In others, she’s less developed than a literal toddler.

For instance, in the early days, there were far too many times where John had to avert his eyes after she got out of the tub, because El just hadn’t bothered to get dressed _in_ the bathroom, and strides through the living room like it’s nothing. Cortana found it funny at first, but it quickly wore off, and he had to resort to posting a note on the back of the bathroom door to make sure she remembered.

He didn’t blame El for it. If anyone, it was the fault of the scientists at the lab.

That was one of the earliest problems they had to work through, but where they were able to work out one problem, more sprang up to take its place. Currently, even one year after he’d taken her under his wing, problems still arose, the current one they were facing is tact.

El isn’t really used to putting a filter on herself, which leads to the occasional… problem. It all started when John, Cortana, and El had gone to procure a dress for her to wear to the upcoming Snow Ball. They find themselves in a department store, and because -let’s be honest here- Hawkins isn’t exactly the shopping capital of the world, the selection isn’t that great.

El, however, isn’t content with just standing there, silently judging the dresses, oh no... She proclaims the entire selection to be hideous, save for the one dress that she actually likes out of the whole store.

John, if he was anybody else, would be mortified. El doesn’t register that she’s done anything wrong. And Cortana finds the situation a bit too funny.

John gets the dress paid for and Cortana and El out of the store before anyone can start talking. Honestly, he doesn’t care what other people think, but when some soccer mom with hair as tall as a high-rise came up trying to tell him how to deal with _his_ child, he had to get out of there, quick.

Of course, one isolated incident isn’t enough to constitute a problem. But as they begin visiting the town more and more often in order to expose El to society a bit more, the same issues highlight themselves again.

And after El causes a little girl on the street to break out into tears, John and Cortana decided to take care of the problem.

John sits El down on the couch, and he and Cortana stand across from her.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” El questioned, looking between the two fearfully.

“You didn’t mean to.” John answered. “But you did.”

“But don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.” Cortana goes to add on, catching the look on El’s face. It’s entirely too fearful. There’s fearing getting in trouble, and then there was the terror that took over El’s expression. If Cortana ever found out where the scientists that used to be in charge of El were hiding… There’d be nothing strong enough to stop her from horribly maiming and murdering every last one.

But that could come later. Murdering was a horribly time-consuming occupation, after all, and they had problems to deal with.

“I don’t understand.” El said, trying to decide on whether she wanted to focus on Cortana or John. “What did I do?”

John sighed. “We need to talk. About your recent… issues with tact.”

“Tact?” El’s eyebrow furrowed.

“It means being sensitive when dealing with others or in certain social situations.” Cortana explained, sitting down next to El.

El cocked her head to the side. “But… I’m already sensitive.” El frowned. “The others say I’m a… softie.”

“Not that kind of sensitive.” John shook his head.

“Is there another kind?” El questioned.

“Yes,” Cortana nodded, being patient with the girl, “The kind we’re talking about means taking other people’s feelings into consideration and responding accordingly.”

It only seemed to confuse El further. “What do you mean?”

“It means that…” Cortana paused for a moment, trying to think of an example. “Let’s say, someone goes up to you, and asks you what you think of how they look… If you don’t like it, but don’t want to hurt their feelings, you soften the blow.”

“But isn’t that lying?” El inquired. “You shouldn’t lie. To anyone.”

“First of all, I’m going to kill Mike for teaching you that.” Cortana began, “He had a good intention, but… Never lying ever to anyone is not a reasonable thing to expect. Out of anyone. Not you, not him, not even John.”

“And it isn’t lying.” John explained. “You’re just taking more care with what you say.”

“Exactly.” Cortana nodded. “We’re not asking you to become a glassy-eyed yes man, just… be careful with what you say, especially to people who you aren’t close with.”

El slowly nodded. “Be careful… Think about it.”

Cortana smiled, ruffling El’s hair. “That’s right! And I didn’t even have to tell you that outright… Now, go find a place in your room to hang your dress. It’ll help get the wrinkles out… I think.”

El nodded, standing up, taking the dress from Cortana. As soon as El was out of earshot, Cortana clenched her fists.

“I’m going to kill them.” Cortana said, shaking with fury. “I’m going to hunt down every last one of those scientists involved with her ‘training’ and kill them slowly and painfully.”

“The thought’s crossed my mind.” John admitted. “A time or two. But-“

“I know, I know…” Cortana sighed, running her fingers through her hair. “Too big of a risk, even for us. But a sense of empathy is one of the earliest things a human being develops, for her not to have one…”

“If it’s any consolation,” John crossed his arms, “We’re making up for that now. It’s going to be hard, but…”

“No one said parenting was easy.” Cortana finished.

John agreed with a nod. It wasn’t… but that didn’t mean it wasn’t something he enjoyed.


	5. 4v4 CTF

El loves the snow. Hell, she can’t get enough of it. So, as soon as the first snowfall of December comes, El practically begins begging John to play Capture the Flag with her again. There is, however, a small hiccup.

Cortana wants to take part too.

Not that it’s a bad thing, quite the opposite. Some part of John is happy she’s taking an interest in what he likes, but that does leave the problem of terribly unbalanced teams. No matter which side Cortana took, it’d throw off the game irreparably.

They needed another person. Or maybe…

It was a Saturday. They probably weren’t doing anything else.

****

John watched as Jonathan Byers’s car pulled away, Will being the last child to arrive at the cabin. Will’s looking better, John’s glad to see, the last traces of the Primordial being purged fully.

“Hey. John.” Will greeted, walking up to the SPARTAN.

“Will.” John nodded. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” Was all Will said, like he had heard the question a thousand times before. Though still, John couldn’t help but notice the way he clutched his side.

“Better enough to run?” John questioned.

“Yeah…” Will slowly said. “Why?”

“I’ll explain with the others.” John motioned for Will to follow. “This way.” He guided; leading Will deeper into the forest.

After only a short walk, they came to a small clearing in the forest, where the others were waiting.

“Finally,” Max spoke up upon realizing the other two had shown up. “You get all of us out in the middle of nowhere and make us wait… I was starting to think a bear had gotten you.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Like a bear could do anything to him.” He then turned to John, an inquisitive look on his face. “She does have a point, though…

“What the hell are we all doing out here?” Dustin questioned.

“Capture the Flag.” John answered.

“Capture the Flag?” Lucas repeated. “You brought us all the way out here for that?”

“We needed to balance the teams.” Cortana explained, shivering ever so slightly in the cold.

John nodded. “And we thought it would be more fun if we got a larger group together.”

“It’s one of my favorite games.” El spoke up. “And I haven’t played it with you guys yet…”

Mike took one look at El’s face, and sighed. “Alright, I’m in.”

“Great!” El beamed, and she turned. Will, she didn’t even need to look at, as her eyes came to rest on the others.

Dustin shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do.”

Max nodded. “Me either.”

“…At least it’ll let me get out of the house.” Lucas agreed.

“And after we’re done,” Cortana put her hands on her hips, “We can play D&D. How does that sound?”

Mike huffed. “Like you need to bribe us. So, what’re the teams?”

“Team Captains,” She turned to John and El, “It’s your choice.”

“Cortana,” John spoke up first, “You’re with me.”

“Ah, the dynamic duo.” Cortana smiled, stepping to his side. “You can’t fault a classic. Your go, El.”

El drew her lips into a line, as she surveyed her choices. “Max.” She pointed to first.

“Okay, but I should warn you.” Max began, stepping behind El. “I tend to get a little… competitive.”

It only took a minute or two for them to pick out the teams. By the end of it, it was John, Cortana, Will, and Dustin on Blue Team, and El, Max, Mike, and Lucas on Red Team.

“Okay, the game is first to four.” John explained. “We’re using snowballs for projectiles. When you get hit with one, you have to stop in place for ten seconds. Multiple hits don’t stack, so if you hit someone twice, the time still counts down from the first hit. To keep the game moving, a team can’t move their own flag, under any circumstances, and you can’t stand by someone and continually pelt them with snowballs. If you’re in a base when you’re hit, you have to return to your own base, and can’t hit others while doing so, but getting hit won’t force you to stop. And if you get hit while holding a flag, you have to drop it, and can’t pick it up for thirty seconds. The bases are directly across from each other but separated by the trees. Do not go past the orange marker flags, those are our bounds. Once a flag is captured, we’ll call time to reset both flags and teams back to their respective bases, and a new round begins.”

Dustin’s eyebrows shot up. “Sounds like you guys took a while to plan this.”

“John and I worked out a lot of the rules last winter.” El explained, “But other than those, there’s really none.”

“Save for, you know,” Cortana cut in, “Don’t be putting rocks or other non-snow things into your snowballs. If you get hurt, I will laugh.”

“What does the winning team get?” Mike questioned.

El shrugged. “We’ll work that out when it comes to it..”

“Right.” John turned back to the teams. “Understand?”

Everyone nodded, and the two teams went to their starting positions.

John looked across the way with a pair of binoculars, landing on the other ‘base,’ which was actually four trees with red tape wrapped around the outside, and he saw El, looking back at him.

She gave a thumbs-up, signaling that they were ready, and he returned it with his own, officially starting the round.

**_Round One_ **

“Okay, so, what’s the plan?” Dustin inquired of John.

“We keep them occupied.” John pointed to the other team charging across the battlefield. “It looks like they haven’t realized it yet.”

“Realized what?” Cortana questioned.

“Turn around.” John instructed, as he began to pack the first snowball.

“What’s that supposed to-“ Cortana turned around, seeing absolutely no one. “What the hell? Is Will _Batman_ now? Where’d he go?”

“Probably to go steal their flag.” John responded as he wound up. He tossed the snowball into the air, and it sailed in a majestic arc across the battlefield, landing right on top of Mike. John could hear Mike’s call of bullshit even from there. “Don’t just stand there.” John told Cortana and Dustin. “Get some snowballs.”

Cortana and Dustin instantly went to the ground and began scooping up the snow. Dustin wound up, and threw it, the snowball impacting Lucas as the rest of Red Team sent back their own flurry.

John froze in place, as a snowball hit him in the back.

“Oops!” Cortana cringed. “Friendly fire. Sorry.”

John sighed, as he waited for the ten seconds to go by.

This was either going to be a very long game, or a very short one.

****

“What the hell are you doing!?” Max yelled to Lucas, as he darted in between the trees.

“Going for the flag!” Lucas responded, running out from behind one.

“We agreed that I was going for it, and you were going to cover me!” Max shouted, narrowly dodging a snowball from Dustin.

“I didn’t say that!” Lucas replied, charging straight into the enemy base.

“Glory hog!” Max threw, as snow from a disturbed branch almost came down on top of her.

The moment Lucas passed through the opening in the blue tape, Cortana popped up out of nowhere, and tossed a snowball directly into Lucas’s chest. Lucas sighed, and began the walk of shame back to Red Base.

“Oh, you camping son of a bitch!” Max yelled, as a second snowball from Cortana hit her.

“It’s a legitimate strategy!” Cortana frantically yelled in response, charging off into the thick treeline.

****

**_Round Two_ **

Mike narrowed his eyes, absently tossing a snowball up and down, catching it over and over as he laid eyes upon the source of ire.

“Well, well, well…” Mike smiled in a predatory manner. “Or should I say, Will, Will, Will?”

Will, who had been caught inching his hand towards the Red Flag, froze in place.

“Hey… buddy…” Will slowly and fearfully began. “…Awkward meeting you here… You come here often?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” Mike responded. “What you got there?”

“Oh, this…” Will pointed. “I was just… polishing the pole.” And he cringed

“Will, that’s a branch.” Mike pointed out. “And don’t even think about grabbing it. I’ve got a snowball with your name on it.” Mike turned it over.

“Huh.” Was all Will could say. Mike had literally etched Will’s name into the snowball.

“On your left!” A voice suddenly called.

Mike looked, seeing El standing at the top of a small hill, as she wound up to throw. The snowball flew through the air and hit.

But instead of hitting Will, the snowball impacted against Mike, knocking him back. Not from the force of the throw, she didn’t throw it that hard, but from the fact that he thought it was on course for Will

“Oh no!” El breathed with horror, as she realized she’d hit the wrong one. She bent down to get another snowball, and that was all the time Will needed to grab the flag and go charging off back to Blue base.

“Mike!” El called, running over to Mike.

He just lay there in the snow, staring up at the grey, cloudy sky.

“Mike, are you okay?” El questioned.

“Hngh…” Mike groaned. “Next time you betray me… Just tell me to close my eyes first.”

****

**_Round Three_ **

“…Who built the snowman?” El questioned, looking at the construct with confusion. “We’re supposed to be fighting, there hasn’t been time for it.”

“I don’t know.” Lucas stared at it with befuddlement. “I’d be impressed… If I wasn’t so confused.” Then, he heard something behind him crack. “Wait a minute…”

Lucas, tensing his arm up, whipped around, putting the snowman to his back, as he readied his arm to throw. But the throw never happened, as his eyes landed on something brown and tiny.

“Oh…” Lucas said. “Just a squirrel… But that still leaves the question of why someone would make a snowman out here.”

Lucas got an answer, as El gasped as she was hit with a snowball, Lucas began turning back around, but it was too late to stop it, as the snowball hit him in the sternum.

Two arms, which had once been holding snowballs, were sticking out of the snowman’s torso.

“Damn…” Will breathed, his teeth chittering, as he wiped the remnants of the snowman off him. “It was cold in there.”

“But…” El began, as Will receded into the distance. “How…?”

Lucas shrugged and sighed, as though he’d seen it all before. “I find it best not to question these things.”

****

**_Round Four_ **

John walked quietly through the forest, keeping himself close to the ground to minimize noise, and to prevent the enemy from seeing him.

Red Base was in sight, and it looked to be completely undefended.

John got to his feet, and walked into the perimeter. A stick to his right snapped, and he was on it in an instant, operating in a time-frame so fast it would make light jealous. John tossed his prepared snowball and watched as it flew through the air in slow motion, hitting Max in her arm.

“Damnit, I didn’t even get a chance to throw!” Max complained. “How did you know I was there?”

“I can hear a pin drop in a hurricane.” John replied, as began walking towards the flag, keeping Max in his sight.

“…Okay.” Max granted. “But can you see a snowball that’s already flying through the air at the back of your head?”

John began turning around the picosecond the words left her mouth, going to duck, but even for him, it was too late, and the snow it the side of his head.

“Yeah!” Mike pumped his fist in satisfaction. “Get to walking, John!”

John shook his head, but relented, and began the walk back.

****

“So.” Cortana said, standing beside the Blue Flag.

“So.” Dustin retorted.

“…You ever wonder why we’re here?” Cortana said, then she began to snort, as she struggled to hold back a chuckle.

“Is that a 26th century thing I’m too primitive to understand?” Dustin questioned.

“No, no…” Cortana struggled to hold back her laughter. “Sorry. Remind me to tell you about Project Freelancer some time. Funniest shit I’ve ever seen.”

“Hey.” Dustin said.

“Yeah?” Cortana replied.

“You realize the flag’s gone, right?” Dustin questioned.

Cortana’s head turned to the space where it should’ve been.

“Suck it, Blues!” Lucas yelled, running off towards Red Base.

“You know, it was funny watching it happen on the security tapes, but now that it’s been done to me, I have only one thing to say…” Cortana began. “ _Oh, son of a…”_

****

**_Round Five_ **

“So, my child…” John began, “We meet again, after all this time.”

“You won’t win.” El returned, “My friends will make sure of that.”

“Friends?” John raised an eyebrow. “Friends are fleeting, like the very snow we stand in, but family? That is forever… Cease this pointless struggle, relinquish your flag to me, and we can end this conflict once and for all.”

“Dude.” Dustin whispered to Lucas, the fighting forgotten as both teams stared on in confusion. “What the fuck is going on?”

“I have no idea.” Lucas whispered back, as El struggled to hold back giggles. “It’s like _Empire Strikes Back…_ But way worse.”

“Hey guys!” Mike yelled. “I’ve got their flag!”

“ _Aw, come on_!” Cortana yelled.

****

“The distraction worked.” John defended. “…Just not for our team.”

“John?” Cortana frowned

“Yes?”

“I just want you to know… I hate you the most.”

The SPARTAN sighed. “I know.”

****

**_Round Six_ **

“Are you _sure_ this was a good idea?” Max questioned, crawling along behind El.

“Yeah.” El replied, as the dirt in front of her pushed itself out of the way. “They’ll never expect a tunnel. And I’ll fill it in after we’re done.”

“You’d better.” Cortana suddenly called from behind them.

Max turned around, towards the tunnel entrance. Cortana was peeking in upside down, with a snowball in hand, waving the Red Flag tauntingly for good measure.

“Ah, crap.”

****

“Tunnels?” John demanded in between rounds; his arms crossed.

El crossed her arms in response. “It was a good idea.”

“Safe for the fact that you could’ve caused it to cave in on you.” John pointed out, his voice tense with worry.

“…It was a mostly good idea.

**_Final Round_ **

“This is it gentlemen. The final battle.” El began, to the rest of her teammates. “We’re tied three-to-three. Whoever wins this, wins the war.” She came to a stop in front of them. “You three haven’t been under my command for long, but I couldn’t have asked for a better team. Or friends.”

Mike blinked. “El… have you been watching war movies again?”

“No!” El defended. She shrunk in on herself. “A little.”

“I’m not even a guy.” Max pointed out.

“Fine,” El rolled her eyes, “ _Lady_ and gentlemen.”

“Thank you.”

“So,” Lucas crossed his arms, “What’s the plan?”

“Plan?” El repeated. “What makes you think I have a plan?”

“The last few times we just went rushing in, we got our asses kicked.” Lucas pointed out. “I’d be willing to do anything… As long as it’s not crawling through a tunnel.”

El rolled her eyes. “The tunnel had merit… _Someone_ forgot to watch the entrance.”

“She hit me with a snowball!” Mike instantly went to defend himself. “I couldn’t move!”

“Anyway,” El continued. “The plan is… charge!” She yelled, running out of the base.

“What!?” Mike yelled, running off after her. “Now!?”

“They can’t stop all of us!” El explained, running straight down the middle.

“They can!” Lucas retorted, keeping up.

“This is stupid!” Max shouted. “Why do we keep doing stupid things!?”

“No, it’s brilliant!” El shot back, dodging a snowball that had come from the left. She turned to that direction, and threw, her snowball hitting Cortana. “See, they’ve already split up! They won’t expect all of us running to their base!” El explained, continuing the charge.

Mike sighed, shaking his head. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I’m… reasonably certain.” El replied, as they all began to slow done once the other base was in sight. “There it is… be quiet. Everybody, surround it.” She ordered, approaching the entrance.

The Blue Flag was in sight, and so was Will, as he stood guard over the thing. He noticed El almost immediately.

“Hey, El.” He said, raising the snowball. “Whatcha’ doing?”

“Oh, you know, stealing the flag.” She replied.

Will tsked. “Sorry, but that’s gonna have to be a no from me.”

“…” El looked around, as the others got into position. The moment she crossed the barrier, she’d be hit. Unless…

“I’ll give you a kiss if you let me take the flag.” El said.

Will snorted. “You really think bribery would work on me?”

“No.” El admitted, struggling to hold back laughter. “But it distracted you long enough, didn’t it?”

“What?” Will’s head whipped back to the flag. It was still there, but the thing that got Will the most were the three other people, standing behind each line of tape, with snowballs raised at the ready.

“…Please don’t hurt me.”

****

“I can’t believe this.” Cortana fumed, her brow furrowed angrily. “Aren’t you supposed to be the best that humanity has to offer.”

“Yes.” John replied.

“And yet, you can’t stop a couple of kids from stealing a piece of cloth.” She shook her head.

“Hey, guys,” Will spoke up shyly. “How much longer do you think this is going to take?”

“I don’t know.” Cortana admitted. “But when it is, I am going to kill myself.

“Less talking,” El spoke up, sipping at a can of Dr Pepper as Will rubbed her feet, “More rubbing.”

“El.” Cortana gritted her teeth, as she nearly crushed Mike’s toes.

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”


	6. Nightmares

Things weren’t all sunshine and rainbows since the gate closed. Despite the fact that what they all had gone through was straight out of a Steven King novel, this was real life. And despite their attempts to get on with life as usual, it would come back to hit them full force.

And the first one it hit was Mike.

****

There’s a quiet knock at the door, and John, even with his advanced hearing, had trouble detecting it in the throes of sleep.

The SPARTAN pulled the door open, to see Mike standing on the porch, looking like he’d been crying.

“Mike?” John tilted his head, “It’s late.” That was an understatement, it was almost midnight by now. “What are you doing here?”

“I, uh…” Mike swallowed. “This might sound kind of stupid, but… I couldn’t sleep. I came here on my bike.”

John stepped aside and allowed Mike into the cabin. John pushed the door closed, and turned on a lamp, turning to the boy. “Being unable to fall asleep sometimes is normal, but I’ve never heard of someone having it so bad it made them ride over to a friend’s house in the dark.” John remarked. “What happened?” And John could hear the curtain being pulled open, as Cortana wondered what was going on.

“I can’t remember, exactly, but… It was bad.” Mike admitted. “All I could keep thinking about was Will. You weren’t there in his hospital room… He admitted to leading the soldiers into the trap. The way he said it… The way he… _gloated_ about killing them. It wasn’t him. And that’s all I can keep thinking about, Will being trapped in his own body, being unable to do anything to stop them.”

Cortana, who had been watching the whole time, strode over to Mike, and wrapped her arms around him. “I know…” She whispered, rubbing his hair. “I know.” Because she did know. Exactly.

“Did you talk to someone about it?” John questioned. “Nancy? Or even your mother

Mike looked down, as Cortana released him. “I… I don’t want Nancy to worry. And mom… I don’t want to bring her into this”

“She’s going to worry.” John pointed out. “When she wakes up in the morning and her son isn’t there.”

“I left her a note.” Mike said. “Telling them where I was going. It’s just…” He swallowed. “I needed to get out of that house. And there really was nowhere else I could go… not this late.”

John sighed. “Well, it’s not like I can send you back. I’ll get a sleeping bag out.”

“No.” El spoke up, her door wide open. She walked up to Mike and grabbed his hand. “You sleep with me tonight.”

Mike was taken aback. “What?”

“Nightmares.” El responded. “I’ll keep them away,”

“El,” Cortana began, “It’s not really socially acceptable to-“

“Don’t care.” El said, pulling Mike into her room.

“Well.” Cortana crossed her arms. “That was rude.”

“Are you sure they should be-“ John began,

“If it were Will, I would say we didn’t have anything to worry about.” Cortana said, following it up with a sigh. “His nightmare, though…”

“He’ll be too focused on that to be thinking about anything else.” John stated with conviction.

Cortana nodded slowly. “Yeah… He’ll be fine… But if I hear anything, I’m going to shoot him. With the magnum.”

It was funny. In a way, when John began taking care of El, he also began taking care of her friends as well. And with that thought, John fell back into sleep, like nothing had ever happened, save that the cabin had one extra occupant last night.


	7. Shared Experiences

“Ow…” El groaned, clutching her stomach, curled up on her side in her bed.

“El, sweetie,” Cortana whispered, rubbing El’s arm, “What’s wrong?”

“It hurts.” El complained, gesturing to her stomach. “Like… stabbing.”

“Should we take her to a hospital?” John questioned. Outwardly, he projected an aura of calm and tranquility, but those who knew how to read his body language could tell he was on edge.

“I don’t know…” Cortana responded, unsure. “It could just be food poisoning. That chicken we had last night tasted a little funny.”

John frowned. “Why didn’t you say anything?” He inquired.

“You worked so hard on it, and I didn’t want it to go to waste…” Cortana responded.

“I thought it was fine.” El spoke up, still laid down on her side.

Cortana sighed. “Are you feeling anything else?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “Nausea, dry mouth, anything like that?”

“Headache.” El grunted. “That’s it.”

“I think we have some ibuprofen around here somewhere…” Cortana said, moving to exit the room. A moment later, she came back, holding the pill and a glass of water. “Here.” She said, handing them over to El. “It should help with your headache. I don’t know about your stomach, though.”

“It’s okay. Thank you.” El said, taking the pill and glass. She threw the pill into her mouth, and sent it down with a gulp of water, before going back to her side.

“Alright, try to keep still.” Cortana instructed. “And I shouldn’t need to tell you, but if you feel like you need to go to the bathroom, go. Don’t try to hold it. The last thing we need is…” Cortana grimaced. “Cleanup.”

El chuckled slightly, finding it funny, and nodded. “Okay.”

“We’ll be in the living room if you need us.” John told El, as he and Cortana left El to her peace.

****

Later that night, John woke up in the middle of the night to a whimper. Cortana is next to him, curled up much like El was, and her eyes are screwed up tightly as she slept.

“Cortana.” John quietly and gently shook her. “Cortana.”

Cortana’s eyes creaked open, her staring at the SPARTAN with a pleading look. “John…” Cortana grimaced.

“Are you alright?” John inquired.

“Fine.” Cortana responded. “Save for the fact that it feels like there are knives in my intestines.”

“I’m sorry.” The SPARTAN apologized. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Go get me some water.” She requested. “Please?”

John nodded, and got up from the bed, walking into the kitchen. He grabbed a cup out of the cabinet, and began filling it up, patiently standing as the water reached the brim.

“Oh…” Cortana’s voice suddenly came from their room. “I am an _idiot!”_

“Cortana?” John questioned, as Cortana came storming out of the room. “What is it?”

“How long’s it been since I got my new body?” Cortana questioned, crossing her arms. “Three weeks? A month?”

“Yes…” John responded, becoming severely confused.

“And how old would you estimate El to be now?” She continued. “Thirteen? Fourteen?”

“The date on her birth certificate said July 15, 1971.” John answered. “If that’s her actual birthday, she’d be thirteen. Why?”

Cortana gritted her teeth in frustration, but it wasn’t directed at the SPARTAN. “I may be human, but I’ve still got access to all my databases from before.” Cortana explained. “And yet it took me this long to work it out.”

“Work out what?” John questioned.

“How do you feel about the ‘P’ word?”

“The… what?”

Cortana sighed exasperatedly. “Period, John.”

“…Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh.’” Cortana sarcastically repeated. She walked over to where they kept their money, and pulled out a 10 dollar bill, handing it to John.

“What’s this for?” John raised an eyebrow.

“It’s December, it’s cold and dark out, and I need something to stop the bleeding.” Cortana explained. “Unless you’d rather have blood everywhere?”

“I’ve cleaned up blood before.”

“Not this kind of blood.” Cortana rolled her eyes. “Just go to the store, and get some pads.”

John sighed. There was really no arguing with her.

****

“So…” El began, having been woken up by Cortana once John returned. “I’m not sick?”

“No.” Cortana answered, as El let out a relieved sigh. “Don’t worry, it’s all perfectly natural.”

El nodded comprehendingly. “Natural. The blood?”

“Normal.” Cortana nodded. “But I have to admit… I didn’t expect it to begin this soon. But don’t worry, I’m here with you. Trust me, I’m going through the same pain.”

El nodded, and smiled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Cortana responded. “Now, let’s get those things away from John. He looks like he’s about to burst into flames.”

As it happens, El is still learning a lot about the world and her place in it. However, she isn’t the only one. Cortana, too, has things to learn about her new existence.

And occasionally, their lessons overlap.


	8. John's Nightmare

John’s nightmares have changed. Whereas before, the subject of his nightmares was often the Covenant, the Flood, or his brothers and sisters, an increasing number of them begin to center around El.

Every time, he finds himself in Hawkins, but not as part of the events, he’s an outside observer, looking in. The town is… wrong, subtly, and it takes a while as John explores the nightmare, but he slowly begins to figure out why. He goes to the cabin first and seeing the state of the inside is like being hit with a shotgun blast.

Everything is _wrong,_ out of place in a way that only those who lived there or visited on a regular basis would notice. The furniture is wrong, there’s a recliner where the couch should be directly in front of the tv. The dining table is completely gone, replaced by something that would look more at home next to a beside. And everything looks old, too old. When John and El first moved in, a significant portion of the work was getting furniture, most if not all of which was new, but here, it all looked used.

John takes a look around the cabin and begins to grow uneasy. There are discarded beer cans in the garbage, and one or two on the kitchen table. John’s never drunk a beer in his life, save for the Saint Patrick’s Day where he demonstrated just how gross they were to El.

He also begins to note the absence of other, more… little things, but things that were no less important. The books that El enjoys reading, the ones that he had gotten her for Christmas, are all gone, no trace to be found. And the pictures…

They haven’t kept many actual photos in the cabin, save for a few taken on Christmas and New Years, but El’s paintings (she prefers paint to drawing) are a constant fixture on each wall, only moving to make room for another one. They’re all gone.

John takes a look into what should be his room and gets a sinking feeling. None of it is his. The bed is too small, especially since Cortana began bunking with him, and in entirely the wrong place. His armor, where it should be stashed safely in a trunk, is also missing, the trunk gone as well. There’s only a dresser, with a few scattered pictures on top. They all have Hopper in them, either as a prominent part with a child John’s never seen, or just out of the way where he accidentally intruded into the shot.

John doesn’t know what his brain is trying to tell him, but by this point, he’s sufficiently uncomfortable.

He has to check on El.

He strode over to her room, and pushed her door open gently.

The room is recognizably hers, but it’s all wrong as well. The walls are the same pastel-seafoam green color they should be, the bed is in the same place, and so is the dresser. That’s where it ends. The lamp on her dresser is completely wrong, her supercom is a model closer to Mike’s instead of the one John got her for Christmas, and none of her favorite books, cassette tapes, or toys are anywhere to be seen. It’s El’s room…

But it isn’t _hers._

Slowly, John begins to come to a conclusion. He’s entered a twisted funhouse mirror world where he’s not a part of El’s life, either by choice, or… It doesn’t matter, but it does make John tighten his fist. El’s _his_ kid, he should be the one taking care of her.

A quiet gasp comes from the doorway, and John whips around, to see El. She’s slightly older, her hair has grown out, to near shoulder-length, and she’s gotten tall. Not as tall as him, but tall enough. John sees the look in her eyes, and even though he’s been trained not to let his emotions get the better of him, it’s obvious he’s a total stranger to her, and his heart shattered.

John opens his mouth to speak.

He never gets the chance.

El throws out an arm, and John gets sent flying into the wall. He collided against it, the SPARTAN feeling the impact against his back. He looks back up to El, and the world slowly begins to fade.

John’s eyes snap open, staring to the ceiling of his bedroom, he looked to his right, feeling the body at his side.

“John?” Cortana lifted her head, stirred by his sudden movements. She looked at his eyes, and even in the dark of night, could see the look on his face. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.” John replied. “I’ll be right back.” John told her, getting up. John walked out of their room, through the cabin, dead set on one destination. He very carefully, very quietly, pushed El’s door open, peeking inside.

Everything was there. Her bed, her lamp, her radio. Her paintings were hung proudly on the wall, her books were stacked high on the floor, and her toys were tucked away neatly in one corner of the room. El herself was laying in the bed serenely, looking exactly the way she should’ve.

John let out a quiet sigh, and closed the door, going back to his room. He climbed into bed, and settled, as Cortana clung onto him.

“What was that about?” Cortana questioned, yawning as sleep pulled her away.

“Just a nightmare.”


	9. May I Have This Dance?

“Today’s the day!” Cortana excitedly jittered upon waking up one morning. It was the last Friday before winter break officially began.

And they all knew what that meant.

“Snow Ball!” El smiled widely.

“There’s so much we have to do.” Cortana began, pacing hurriedly around the room. “We’ve got to get your dress ready, your hair done, your makeup on, your nails painted…”

“That…” John looked up from one of his armor’s gauntlets. “Sounds like a lot.”

****

“Ow!” El grimaced as Cortana brushed a knot out of her hair. “Stop. Stop!”

“Unless,” Cortana responded, pulling the brush through the knot, “You want your hair to look like a rat’s nest on your big night, you’ll let me do this.” Cortana bit her lip, as she brushed through another tangle. “Damn, girl… How little conditioner are you using?”

El tilted her head and was immediately yanked back to how she was before by another brush.

“Conditioner?”

****

“I am not,” John crossed his arms, “Putting on your makeup.”

“Pleaase?” El begged, clasping her hands together. “You did the facepaint.”

“That was different.” John pointed out. “We did that for a mission.”

“Well…” El looked away. “Mama doesn’t know how to do it. And, if you think about it, this is kind of like a mission for me…”

John sighed.

“If you look ridiculous, it’s not my fault.”

****

“Smelly.” El crinkled her nose as Cortana applied the nail polish.

“Yep.” Cortana agreed, “But it’ll be worth it.”

****

“What did I say, El?” Cortana smiled at the girl. “It was so worth it.”

El stood in front of the wall mirror, looking at herself with a mixture of anticipation, fear, and awe.

“Pretty…” El breathed, looking at herself. The dress, her nails, her makeup, and her hair all came together in a way she hadn’t anticipated.

“That you are.” Cortana crossed her arms, looking at the fruit of her labor with satisfaction. “How are you feeling?”

“…Scared.” El admitted. “But excited.”

“We call that having butterflies in your stomach.” Cortana explained. “Now then…”

“We’ve got a dance to get to.”

****

The cold, winter night fell on Hawkins, as car after car pulled up to the Hawkins Middle School gymnasium.

One of those cars was being driven by Steve Harrington.

“Alright, buddy,” Steve turned to the boy in the passenger seat as he put the car into park. “Here we are.” Steve turned to Dustin, the boy looking out on the dance with visible anxiety. “Alright, so, remember, once you get in there…”

“Act like I don’t care.” Dustin finished, a bit anxiously, as his styled hair shook with the force of his breath. “I don’t care. I don’t care…”

“You don’t care.” Steve nodded.

“…I care immensely.” Dustin sighed, reaching up to look in the mirror.

“Hey.” Steve pushed Dustin’s hand down. “You look great, dude. Now, you’re gonna go in there, look like a million bucks.”

“Yeah!” Dustin agreed.

“And slay ‘em dead.” Steve finished.

“Like a lion.” Dustin stated. Then, he made the most ridiculous purring sound Steve had ever heard.

“Don’t…” Steve shook his head. “Don’t do that.” Steve held up his hand, and Dustin grasped it, Steve silently reassuring the boy that he, indeed, had it in the bag. “Good luck.”

Dustin got out of the car with a sigh, and walked up into the gym.

He so didn’t have this in the bag.

****

“Holy shit.” Mike breathed, as he and the others got up from their table upon seeing Dustin approach with a twirl, “What happened to you?”

Dustin’s smile fell, and he looked at Mike reproachingly. “What do you mean ‘what happened?”

“Your hair…” Will pointed. “It’s all…” He held his hand far above his head.

“At least I made the effort.” Dustin fired back. “Both of you still have those stupid bowl cuts.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know,” Will pointed, “The bowl cut is my signature look… Mike’s the one that looks stupid.”

Mike snorted. “Going for the bowl cut. Have you no shame?”

“At least you don’t look like a walking tree.” Lucas told them, reaching towards Dustin’s hair. “Is there a bird nesting in there?”

Dustin slapped away the hand. “I worked hard on this, assholes.” He prodded at it self-consciously.

The group’s laughter died down, and Mike put a sincere hand on Dustin’s shoulder. “You look great, man.”

“Thanks.” Dustin nodded, as the music changed from the upbeat song, to _Time After Time_.

During that exchange, Lucas turned to Max.

“Max…” Lucas began, obviously having had to work himself up for the act. “Hey.” He awkwardly smiled. “Um, it’s nice, right?” He began stuttering. “You want to… You want to like, you know… Like, just you and me?”

“Are you trying to ask me to dance, stalker?” Max laughed, crossing her arms.

“No.” Lucas responded, tensing up. “Of course not… I mean, unless you want to…”

Max chuckled, but grabbed onto Lucas’s arm, and pulled him onto the dance floor, joining the other pairs in the slow dance.

Dustin, who had been looking on the scene, sighed, and walked off to be somewhere else, leaving just Will and Mike.

“Where is she?” Will nervously looked around once people began to pair off. “Do you think… Do you think she’s not going to be able to come?”

“Don’t worry.” Mike told Will, despite the fact that he shared his anxiety. “We’ve been talking about this for the past few weeks. She’s gonna come.”

Will nodded, and sighed, leaning back in his seat. The two stayed silent, watching the others as they went about their dance. At one point, Nancy had even seen Dustin all alone, and had pulled him into a dance. It was heartwarming, but it did leave Mike and Will entirely on their own.

“Hey, Mike?” Will spoke up, as Mike’s stare was affixed to the people.

“Yeah?”

“Look at the door.” Will breathed with awe, and Mike obeyed.

As Mike’s view was drawn to the entrance, he could see why Will was so awestruck. El had come in, with Cortana and John on her sides, and she looked…

He didn’t know what to say. Beautiful? Amazing? All words that he could think of were not enough. John said something to El, and Cortana pointed over to Mike and Will. El nodded, and began to slowly approached, Cortana and John walking to the side to join the other adults.

The song had changed again, as El walked out, looking uncomfortable at the attention put on her.

“H-Hey, El…” Will stuttered.

“You look…” Mike breathed. “Beautiful.”

El smiled, and looked down with a blush. “Handsome.”

“What?” Mike questioned, unable to hear.

“You.” She told him, and she turned to Will. “And you. You look… handsome.”

“W-Well, I-I-I-“ Will stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck. Will cut himself off with a sigh and smiled. “Thanks.”

“Do you…” Mike began uncertainly. “Do you want to dance?”

El looked to the dance floor with a fearful expression. “There’s three of us. Two of everyone else.”

“There is.” Mike admitted. “I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to do it with more than two people, but…”

“We can make it work.” Will shrugged.

El smiled, gave a nod, and took each of their hands in her own, leading them out onto the floor.

“Okay, so… I guess we’ll do a triangle…” Mike began, as the three of them began to dance together.

****

“She’s grown up so fast…” Cortana commented, looking at the scene through the shiny plastic streamers separating the bleachers from the dance floor.

“I know.” John commented. “Seems like yesterday I was carrying her back to Mike’s basement in my arms.”

Cortana let out a small chuckle. “To be fair, I think you could still pull that off. John?”

“Hm?”

“You’re a great father.”

John turned to her with an inquiring look. “What brought that on?”

“It’s, well…” Cortana looked back out to El. “She’s been hurt so much over the course of her life, she’d have a hard time adjusting to the world at large, and you? Well, you’re not exactly the most affectionate person. Despite that… You’ve been exactly what she needs. I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

“Thanks.” John returned with a small smile of his own, and they both fell silent.

“…John?”

“Yes?”

“Will you dance with me?” Cortana requisitioned.

“I…” John trailed off, thrown off by the sudden request. “I don’t know how.”

Cortana smiled. “Neither do I.” She admitted. “But if we’re going to look like idiots… might as well do it together, huh?”

John nodded, and took Cortana’s hands in his own. Mimicking the movements of the children on the dance floor, John led Cortana to the rhythm of the song.

Cortana smiled, and leaned her head against his shoulders, the two losing themselves in the song and the motions of their own bodies. Everything was… perfect. Just perfect.

Though unbeknownst to them, an ancient, sinister, alien set of eyes looked upon them all with fury. Plotting Its next scheme.

And everything was perfect.


	10. D&D Night

The night of December 16, 1984 was like any other. The town of Hawkins was asleep, many of the town’s residents having long settled in for the night. Save for a small group of people in a cabin a short way from the town.

“…The Dwarf King, Wedyenoh, explains that their mineshafts have become infested with Undead Creepers.” Mike read from his book, most of the others gathered around the table with character sheets and dice.

They were playing D&D. But not just any regular session. Given that it was the first time El and Max were properly playing the game with them, Mike went all out with the new campaign. Going so far as to create an entire world map with planned out settlements (with histories for each) and new monsters not seen anywhere in the guidebook.

“What the hell is an undead creeper?” Dustin frowned in confusion, going for the drink by his side.

“They’re undead,” Mike explained in a ‘duh’ tone of voice, “That have been animated by an artifact at the heart of the mineshaft. The Dwarven miners tunneled down to it, thinking it was a gemstone deposit, and accidentally let its magic loose into the tunnels.”

“Great,” Lucas stated, “But how do we kill them?”

“We don’t.” Cortana stated, from where she was sat at the table. “I’m guessing that since the artifact brought them to life,” She turned to Mike, “It’s keeping them alive?”

Mike nodded. “Any attempts to fight them head-on will fail. The only way to kill them is to destroy the artifact.”

“But it’s at the bottom of the mineshaft.” Max pointed out. Though she wasn’t really entranced by the game, it was turning out to be good fun so far. “It’s crawling with those things, and if we can’t fight them…”

The group at the table all turned to El. So far, she hadn’t entered into the conversation.

El rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “…I ask the Dwarf King to sing a song.”

Dustin spat out his drink. “ _What!?”_

“You know, a song.” El repeated. “With music.”

“Why do you want him to sing a song?” Will questioned.

El shrugged. “Does there have to be a reason? I thought you said we could do anything in this game.”

“You can.” Lucas granted. “It doesn’t mean you should.”

Mike sighed but relented to keep the game going. “Roll for Charisma.” So far, she’d been good about following the rules of the game, so Mike bet that if El failed the charisma check, she’d let it be and they could get on with it.

El nodded and went for the 20-sided die. Rolling it around in her hand experimentally, she tossed it down on the table, and waited for the result.

“…Dude.” Dustin said, staring down at the perfect 20 El just rolled.

El smiled satisfactorily. “Well…”

Mike sighed, as he struggled to make something up on the spot. “The King is honored by your request, as song is a time-honored tradition of the dwarven people.”

“And?” El questioned.

“And he sends for the… Royal Band.” Mike continued, acting like was the stupidest thing he had ever said. “They all begin a song with heavy drums and guitars, and gladly play for you.”

“What’s the song about?” El questioned.

“What?”

“The King, what’s he singing about?”

Mike sighed again. “Digging holes.”

“How does it go?” El questioned.

“El, seriously-“

“How does it go?” El repeated.

“I’m not-“

“Mike.” El crossed her arms.

“I am a dwarf, and… I’m digging a hole.” Mike gritted out, face going red with embarrassment. “Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole.”

“Ha!” Cortana guffawed, clapping her hands together.

“There wasn’t even a purpose behind that, was there?” Mike questioned of El. “You just wanted to see me embarrass myself.”

El smiled. “Maybe.”

****

“You come to a fork in the tunnel.” Mike outlined. “The map the King provided you with ends here, it’s up to you to decide which one to take. However, there’s no outward indication of which one leads to the artifact.”

“We’re gonna have to wing it.” Lucas stated. “Suggestions?”

“We could split up?” Max suggested.

“Hell no!” Dustin shot down. “We stick together, no matter what!”

“If we split up, we could cover more ground.” Cortana pointed out.

“Yeah, and all get horribly murdered!” Dustin retorted. _“We don’t. Split up. The Party!”_

“Fine,” Max sighed. “I vote we go left.”

“I think we should go right.” Will put in.

“Right.” Echoed Cortana.

“Left.” Lucas agreed with Max.

“Right.” Dustin said, and all their heads turned to El.

“…” El pursed her lips in thought. “We go right.”

Max and Lucas shook their heads, as Mike began moving things along again.

“You go down the tunnel on the right, despite your reservations.” Mike narrated. “Once you’ve all made it a good way down the tunnel, however… A loud bang rocks the entire cavern! A gigantic pile of rocks falls behind you, blocking the path you came down!”

“Son of a bitch!” Dustin threw up a hand. “I knew we should’ve turned left!”

****

“The crystalline artifact pulses with power,” Mike narrated. “It hovers sinisterly above an ancient altar, and you can all feel the dark energy radiating out from it. An army of the undead creepers surround it, making it obvious they won’t let it do down without a fight.”

“Damn dwarves.” Cortana cursed, shaking her head. “Digging too deep.”

“’Digging too deep.’” Dustin mocked. “Says the one who dug us to the bottom of a swamp, filled with Mind Flayers!”

“First of all, those were fungal infectors.” Cortana retorted. “And second of all, nobody else was doing anything. I don’t have to take treatment like this from a dwarf bard that only knows how to sing about alcohol and digging!”

“First of all, fuck you.”

“Language!” John called from where he was working on his armor.

“And second, I’m great at singing.”

“Can you all please just decide what to do?” Mike pleaded, stretched to his wit’s end.

“Fine.” Will rolled his eyes. “I cast fireball.”

“Roll.” Mike commanded, and Will rolled the die. “Direct hit!” Despite it landing near the higher numbers, Mike’s next words gave them all a sinking feeling. “The crystalline structure is completely undamaged, and the army of undead begins shuffling towards you!”

“Oh, shit!” Lucas cured “I attack with my wrist rocket!”

“The attack lands, but still the undead army shuffles forward!” Mike reported. “One of them gets close, and bites into Lady Max’s arm!”

“If I die, I’m killing you all!” Max said.

“Uh, uh…” Dustin searched. “What do we do!?”

“None of our attacks are working!” Will panicked.

“What’s the standard way of dealing with undead!?” Cortana inquired.

“Wait…” El spoke lowly… She slammed her hands down on the table, pulling all attention onto her. “I cast Aura of Vitality!”

“Don’t waste your action like that!” Dustin chided. “We’re all still fine!”

“Oh, and what am I, chopped liver!?” Max entered in.

“Most of us are still fine!”

“El,” Mike looked to her, “You sure that’s what you want to do?”

El looked Mike dead in the eyes and nodded.

Mike grinned. “The undead creepers begin to stagger all around you! They jump back, like they’re being burned by fire, giving you ample room to breathe, and healing the injured members of the party.”

“Thank fuck.” Max breathed, leaning back. “I’m not dying again. It was hard enough coming back the first time.”

“Wait,” Cortana turned to El. “How’d you know to do that?”

“They’re undead.” El said. “So I thought, if they’re already dead, and they were healed, it’d be kind of like… hurting them, right?” El cringed, as the words she used weren’t enough to properly convey her reasoning.

“That’s not how it works.” Dustin said.

“It is for the undead creepers.” Mike said. “Anyway, you all better get a move on, the spell isn’t going to last forever.”

The Party went into a flurry of action. Supported by healing spells from Will, Dustin, and El, they pushed through the undead masses, up to the crystal altar.

“So, what do we do now?” Lucas questioned.

“Well, if healing spells hurt the creepers, would it hurt the crystal?” El wondered.

“I don’t think so.” Will theorized. “It’s not an undead itself, so…”

“You’re right.” Dustin nodded. “So, what now?”

“I walk up to the crystal.” Cortana said.

Mike raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“I beat the hell out of it with my sword.”

“Roll for damage.” Mike instructed.

Cortana did so, and looked upon the die with an anticipating look, but her face fell when she saw the number. “Aw, come on, what the fuck!?”

A one stared back up at her.

Mike sniggered. “You swing your sword at the crystal and make a direct hit. The sword bounces right off, and comes barreling back at you, cutting off your left arm in the process.”

“Go to hell, Mike.”

****

“The Dwarf King thanks you all for your valiant service in clearing out the mineshafts. In response for ensuring the dwarven miners’ safety, the King officially knights each one of you, and gladly grants the Crystal Cross to the party.” Mike narrated.

El frowned. “That’s it?”

“No,” Mike rolled his eyes, “You’ve only collected the first Crystal Cross. There’s six more to go.”

“Hold on,” Cortana held up a hand, “I lost an arm, I want more than that.”

Mike frowned. “You don’t demand more rewards after already being rewarded.”

“She’s right,” Max agreed. “These are dwarves, right? They’ve got to have a lot of gold, silver, and diamonds, right?”

“Screw the diamonds, what about my alcohol?” Dustin said.

They all stared blankly at him.

“What?” Dustin shrugged. “A dwarf’s gotta have his mead.”

Mike sighed, as the others began clamoring. One leg of the campaign finished, six more to go. This was going to take a while…

If he didn’t off himself first.


	11. Improvement

John doesn’t know when he’d expanded his list of those under his protection to include Billy. Of course, John’s glad to see the progress Billy’s making towards mellowing out. The teenager doesn’t come around too often, only to drop off Max when she wants to visit El, but it’s clear his whole demeanor is beginning to change.

He carries himself much like he did before, but there’s an extra layer of… effort? John doesn’t know how to describe it, all he can recognize is Billy’s improvement, and Max’s resulting mood change as well. It may sound crazy, but John thinks Billy’s actually made some progress.

On one occasion when Billy came to pick up Max from the cabin, the two were standing outside, a silence falling between them as they waited for Max to emerge.

John crossed his arms. “How are you doing?” John inquired.

Billy, for a split second, looks like he’s about to respond in the same brash way he’d always had before, but bites it back. “It’s… fine.” Billy stated, taking a puff from his cigarette. “Not good, but not as bad as I was before, you know?”

“I’m glad to hear that.” John replied, because he sincerely was. “How’s the nose?”

“Hurting like a bitch.” Billy commented.

“You get it checked out?” John inquired, looking at the crooked mess on his face.

“No.” Billy stated, blowing out smoke.

“Why not?”

“I hate hospitals.” Billy responded.

“…Really?” John questioned. Because even though he doesn’t know Billy that well, he didn’t seem like the kind of person to be unsettled by hospitals.

“Fine. The piece of shit refuses to pay my medical bills.” Billy spat. “And hospitals ask questions. Happy?”

“Very.” John replied, with an entirely straight face. “Billy, you don’t owe your father anything. If you go to a hospital, and they ask questions, you’re not responsible for shielding him from the authorities.”

Billy scoffed. “Like anyone would do anything. I don’t know what kind of world you’re living in, but in this one, people tend to trust the parents over the children.”

“…You’re almost eighteen, I hear.” John pointed out.

“Who the fuck told you that?”

“Max.” John answered. “But the point is, you don’t have to stay there much longer. You could get out, and be done with it.”

“And leave Max in that shitshow?” Billy stomped on the cigarette. “Hell no! Susan got herself into that mess her damn self, but I’ll be dead before I leave Max like that.”

“Hm.” John crossed his arms. “I thought you hated her.”

Billy sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t hate Max. I blame her.”

“Blame her for what?” John asked.

“I thought I told you to mind your damn business.”

“And I told you, it became my business when one of my daughter’s friends came over with bruises on her neck.” John retorted.

Billy sighed again. “When I was… shit, I can’t even remember I was so young, but my mom left.”

“She left?” John repeated. “Why?”

“Because my father’s a fucking psychopath.” Billy shot back instantly. “One morning, I woke up, and she was just gone. Never saw her again, never talked to her again save for a couple of phone calls. A little while after that, and I mean fucking weeks at the most, he married Susan.”

“So, your father was having an affair,” John theorized, “Your mother must have found out, and with her finally out of the way, he could marry Susan. So she and Max move in, and that’s why you blame her. It was technically them who drove away your mother.”

“Fucking Sherlock Holmes over here.” Billy shook his head. “Don’t tell her I said that, she’d start beating herself up for it, or she’d get a big mouth and say the wrong thing in front of her mom. Or Neil. Kid’s too damn noble for her own good.” Billy looked to the door.

“Sounds like she isn’t the only one.” John stated.

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?”

“I told you before, there must be a reason you let Neil do what he did to you.” John crossed his arms.

The door to the cabin opened, Max coming out onto the porch, looking at the two with confusion.

“Finally.” Billy spat, “You make me wait like that again, and I’m leaving your ass.”

“Go to hell, Billy.” Max shot back, but there’s no venom behind it, as she got into Billy’s Camaro.

Billy turns to leave, but John stops him with a gentle hand on the shoulder.

“Billy,” John began, “If you need anything, you let me know.” John frowned, debating internally to voice his next series of thoughts. The side that wanted to entertain the thought won out. “You’re almost eighteen.”

“You’ve said that already.” Billy stated. “And I said I’m not leaving her in that mess.”

“I didn’t say you’d have to.” John returned. “I don’t know much about the law, but maybe you could… sue for custody?”

“Sue for-“ Billy repeated, “How the hell would that work?”

“You’d have a claim.” John pointed out. “It’s obviously an abusive household.”

“Okay, but where the flying _fuck_ am I going to get the money for that, huh?” Billy rhetorically asked. “Lawyers don’t come cheap you know.”

John looked back to the cabin. “…Cortana’s very good with the stock market. Trust me, we’re here to back you up.”

Billy frowned. “Why are you helping me?”

“Because you have potential.” John answered. It was the truth, Billy just needed the push. “I would hate to see it squandered. Now, get going. I’d hate to keep you for too much longer. And think about what I said.”

“Yeah…” Billy nodded blankly, and he went back to the Camaro. He cranked the stereo up, and pulled away, the sound of Motley Crue fading into the distance.

John looked down at the cigarette on the ground distastefully, going back into the cabin.

Cortana and El are on the couch, watching a rerun of Doctor Who, and John sits down next to them, focusing on the screen with them.

“So…” Cortana began, leaning into the SPARTAN’s side. “How’d it go?”

“Well.” John answered. “I hope.”

Cortana nodded slowly. “You told him we’d help?”

“I did.”

“Good.” Cortana smiled. “I don’t want Max in that household for longer than absolutely necessary.”

John looked down at her. “Since when did you start caring so much?”

“I’ve always cared.” Cortana replied. “Besides… I might feel a little guilty for bashing him around with a frying pan.”

“Guilty?” John repeated. “What happened to the Cortana I knew? The one who forged brothel receipts and a request to send Ackerson to the front lines without a second thought?”

“That was before I got this body. It’s these damn hormones, I’m telling you.” Cortana snarked.

John chuckled very minutely, but one thing still attracted his attention.

“A frying pan?” John raised his eyebrow.

“Not the point, John.”


	12. The Talk

Neither John nor Cortana knows when precisely El, Will, and Mike have become a _thing,_ but apparently that’s a thing that happened. John wishes he could say he’s glad.

He isn’t.

That’s not to say he doesn’t trust Mike or Will, quite the opposite after learning of Mike’s excursion into the tunnels, and Will’s just… too kind.

But El… She’d been cooped up in that lab for twelve years, where the only semblance of human interaction she’d had was of the manipulative, abusive variety. She might not even know what to do in a relationship like that, or heaven forbid, allow herself to be taken advantage of because she thought it was normal.

John will _not_ stand for that.

“Should we do something about it?” John asked of Cortana, voicing that last part to her exactly.

Cortana sighed, rubbing her forehead. “I don’t know. I love El, but, and this is the objective truth, she’s an emotional time-bomb. With telekinetic powers. If one of them, or heaven forbid both of them, hurts her… It’s not going to be us who does the most damage.”

“But we’ll be the ones mopping up Mike and Will paste off the floor.” John finished. “So, we should stop them.”

“I didn’t say that.” Cortana shook her head.

“Then what are you saying?”

Cortana drew her lips into a line, leaning back. “There’s a lot, and I mean a _lot_ of potential trouble this could cause. And that’s not even beginning to talk about typical relationship drama and the potential for teen pregnancy.”

“Teen _wha_ -“

“But,” Cortana continued. “I think it’s something El should try. If we just keep her cooped up, away from anything we _think_ could wind up causing her harm, we’d be no better than the people at the lab. Besides, think of it as an opportunity.”

“An opportunity?” John repeated. “For what?”

“Well, if El winds up getting married to either one of them, then it keeps her with someone who knows what she’s been through and can help her deal with that.” Cortana outlined. “And, if it goes sour, knock on wood, then she can learn from the experience.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t just shut it down?”

“I’m sure.” Cortana affixed the SPARTAN with a slightly berating gaze. “But you realize what this means, right?”

“What does it mean?”

“We’re going to have to give El… _the talk.”_ Cortana spoke with false dread in her voice. “You know, just in case either one of them tries to pull a fast one, she can stop it before it happens.”

“Yeah. Or decide it’s something she wants to do.”

“Oh… Well, it’s better to be informed.”

“So, do you want to approach her together?” John inquired.

“No. You’ve got a much more important job.” Cortana patted John’s shoulders with a grin. “Shaking down the prospective boyfriends.”

“Shaking down?” John rose an eyebrow, looking down into Cortana’s electric blue eyes.

“You know, all the TV fathers do it. Sit the boyfriend down in front of them and begin grilling. Oh, and the voice, and the face, you’ve got to do the voice and the face.” Cortana began to frown, looking rather like someone who just had bad food. “’What are your intentions with my daughter?’” She mimicked, deepening her voice.

“I’m not doing that.”

****

“What,” John crossed his arms, looking at Mike and Will sat down on the couch in front of him. He stood menacingly, or as menacingly as he could try. “Are your intentions,” John continued, “With my daughter?”

“Uh…” Mike furrowed his eyebrow. “What?”

“What are your intentions with my daughter?” John repeated.

“No, the voice.” Mike pointed out. “What the hell is with that voice?”

“Just answer the question.” John ordered, dropping the voice entirely. If this didn’t work, it was all Cortana’s fault.

“Do we…” Will looked to Mike. “Do we have intentions? I mean, all I was coming over to do was watch the Joy of Painting with her.”

“No, Will.” Mike sighed. “He wants to know why we’re dating El.”

“Oh…” Will breathed, nodding slowly. “Yeah, I really don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” John repeated.

“Yeah, it just sort of… happened.” Will awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. “I mean, one night we were at the Snow Ball, and then… she starts acting all… lovey dovey, you know?”

“Yeah, that was probably my fault.” Mike admitted, and both heads turned to him with inquiring gazes. “Okay, so, I may have told her that you and I both, kind of, you know…”

“So that was why she kissed me!” Will snapped his fingers.

“She kissed you?” John demanded, earning Will a slap on the shoulder from Mike.

“I don’t know why it’s such a big deal.” Mike began. “She already said she liked both of us.”

“You want to know why?” John leaned forward. “It’s because El, no matter how old physically, is still like a child in some respects. I don’t care how much she thinks she likes you, or how much you like her, I am _not_ going to let either of you take advantage of her.”

“Take advantage of her!?” Mike repeated incredulously. “I would never!”

“Neither would I!” Will agreed.

“Then if that’s the case…” John began, sighing. “I’ll allow you both to… date El. But, there have to be a few rules. Rule number one, the moment she says she doesn’t want to do something or doesn’t like something, you drop it then and there.”

“Easy enough.” Mike commented, crossing his arms.

“Second, if you’re in El’s room with her, you keep the door open at all times.” John outlined. “I don’t care what you want, it stays open.”

“But-“ Mike tried to push.

“My house, my rules.” John cut Mike off. “And rule number three… Treat her well.”

“Like you have to tell us.” Will said.

“We’ll treat her like a damn princess.” Mike finished.

John gave an approving nod, before throwing one last item out on the table. “I’m glad you understand. But remember, if either of you hurt her, I will hunt you down. In my armor.”

Mike and Will both flinched, and the room fell into silence. A couple of minutes passed in silence, before the door to El’s room opened up, and Cortana and El came out. Poor El looked like she had just bore witness to the most disgusting thing she’d ever seen, or Cortana looked no better, her skin flushed pink with embarrassment.

Cortana flopped down on the couch, as El went to pull Mike and Will into her room, the door left open behind them.

“Good talk?” Cortana questioned, staring blankly ahead.

“Yes.” John answered. “You?”

“Fucking embarrassing.” Cortana responded. “Half the time I was stuttering like a broken record.”

“You got the message through, though.” John remarked, looking in on El’s still repulsed face.

“Oh yeah.” Cortana chuckled lowly. “Told her what happens when you have to pop out a baby because you had unprotected sex.”

“And?”

“We shouldn’t have anything to worry about until she’s thirty.”

“Good.” John returned her smile. “I’m too young to be a grandfather.”

Cortana looked up at John’s face. “I think you look good for your age.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well… I think I see a grey hair. It’s hard to tell with the buzzcut.”

“…You’re no spring chicken, either.”

“Go to hell, John.”


	13. Halo

When El woke up one morning, nose stopped up so bad she sounded like a totally different person, coughing so much her voice went hoarse, while continually complaining about a sore throat, John and Cortana naturally had cause for concern.

El’s immune system wasn’t the best in the world, which was an objective fact. Years of spending her life isolated in the lab, exposed only to a select set of people, obviously had its effect. Up to this point, they had been careful, making sure to teach El proper hygiene, and preventing others from visiting if they had come down with something.

Of course now, they were getting out into the world more and more. Which meant that they couldn’t protect her against every little germ floating in the air. It was only a matter of time before El got sick.

“Well,” Cortana began, looking at a thermometer in her hand, “You’re not running a fever.”

“Fever?” El repeated, tucked under her blanket, unmoving save to respond to the others.

“It’s when your body starts to run hot. Like… an engine left on for too long.” Cortana explained, setting the thermometer on the dresser. “The body raises its own temperature to kill any foreign organisms floating around inside.”

El nodded slowly but kept herself underneath her blanket. Even though she had a full night’s sleep, she felt tired.

“So, if she’s not running a fever, what is it?” John inquired.

“Let’s see… stuffy-slash-runny nose, cough, sore throat…” Cortana repeated the symptoms, as she searched her mind. “No fever… It’s probably just a cold.”

“A cold.” John repeated. “Is there anything we can do?”

“Not much, I’m afraid.” Cortana reached out to gently rub El’s forehead. “With colds, you just have to wait them out. Well, that and try to make them more bearable.”

El let out a cough, and reached for the glass of water nearby, gulping it down like her life was dependent upon it.

“What do I do?” El questioned, sitting the water back down on her dresser.

“You, young lady, get as much rest as possible.” Cortana replied, standing up. “That means no playing outside, no physically strenuous activity, and no powers.”

“Why not?” El questioned.

“Because the best thing to heal a cold is rest. And as for your powers, we don’t know what kind of effect being sick will have on them.” Cortana answered. “Best case scenario, nothing. Worst case, everything from here to downtown gets blown away in a psychic sneeze.”

El crossed her arms. “I don’t use them that much.”

“Don’t lie to me, I know you’re using them.” Cortana retorted, pointing down at El. “I’m like Obi-Wan, I can sense it.”

“What would she even use them for?” John questioned.

“I don’t know.” Cortana sarcastically admitted with a shrug. “Probably to spy on Mike and Will.”

“Yeah, okay, no powers.” John told El.

“Alright, fine.” El reluctantly conceded. “If it’ll help.”

“It will.” Cortana said, “But for it to happen, you have to get rest.” Cortana instructed, moving to exit.

“I just have to… sit around?” El questioned.

“A gross oversimplification, but yes.” Cortana responded.

“But I’ll get bored!” El stated.

“Well…” John and Cortana looked to each other. “What do you want us to do?”

El’s eyes searched around, thinking. “Tell me a story.”

Cortana raised an eyebrow, going to the stack of books on the floor. “What are you feeling? Something new? _Doctor Who and the Aztecs? The BFG? Discworld?”_

“Not a book.” El told her.

“Well then, what do you want to hear?”

“…Halo.”

****

The moment the word left El’s mouth, Cortana was sent into a panic.

“We can’t tell her.” Cortana insisted. “We can’t!”

“Why not?” John raised an eyebrow.

“Do you know what that would do to her?” Cortana questioned. “Learning that humanity was fighting a losing war against a genocidal alien empire, that there were only a few _million_ people left alive when the war ended, and to make matters worse, there’s a galaxy-destroying parasite that could break out and end _everything_ at a single moment? She’d… go mad from the revelation!”

“..You just don’t want to talk about it, do you?”

Cortana let out a huff. “Is that such a bad thing?”

“She deserves to know.” John said.

“Why?” Cortana demanded. “Why does she deserve to know? It won’t happen for another five-hundred years, we’ll all be long dead by then.”

Cortana had a point there, John couldn’t lie. However, there was a part of John that felt… compelled, to get the truth out there. He’d been taking care of El for over a year now, and he still hadn’t told her the full truth about what things were like in the time he’d came from. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, it just… never seemed appropriate.

And now, El was making an explicit request to know about it.

“We’re going to have to tell her eventually.” John pointed out. “She’s too curious for her own good. And if she could bring us back just by herself…”

“Then she could bring something else, too.” Cortana sighed. “Fine, but if it scares her to the point of nightmares, I’m not the one who’s going to deal with it.”

“Fair enough.” John granted, pushing open El’s door again, seeing the patient look on the girl’s face. John pulls up a chair, and sits down, because it’s going to be a very long story.

He tells her a story. Of creatures from beyond the stars, who were charged with humanity’s destruction by the gods. He tells her about the countless worlds, burned and charred to glass, as the aliens pushed their way towards Earth.

He tells her of Reach, humanity’s fortress among the stars. The last, best hope any of them had left, and the terror everyone felt as the death knell rang out for the once-unattackable colony.

He tells her of the Pillar of Autumn, the chariot for he and his siblings, on a mission far past what anyone could have expected for it, and how it became the last lifeboat for those escaping Reach.

Most importantly, he tells her about Halo. The ancient ring so beautiful, an entire culture chose to worship it, but held a secret so terrible that it spelled the doom for every living thing in the galaxy. He tells of the crash, of how it was just he and a few others scattered across the ring, fighting for survival. He tells of how he learned the purpose of the ring, and how he was forced to destroy it to save everyone else. He continues to the second Halo, meeting the grotesque intellect that controlled the Flood, and an old enemy that would become an ally. He finishes with the Ark, so remote that even the galaxy itself was but a pinprick in the sky, the reborn Halo patiently waiting in its forge to be fired, and the last sacrifice that made it all possible. And of the mysterious intelligence on the Ark, that kept the escape route stable enough for John to survive.

And El listens intently. John, much like Cortana, expects El to be fearful at what she hears. Of the unimaginable terrors lurking in the inky black gulfs of space.

But she isn’t. El never stops him, never tells John it’s too frightening. She listens, and her eyes widened as she takes in the full knowledge of what he’s done over the years.

There are still some aspects she doesn’t understand, which is fair enough. But for the most part, she comprehends. And looks upon John and Cortana both with newfound awe. At all they had done, for each other and the galaxy.

And, El thinks to herself, if being sick is what gets her stories like that, she’d ought to get sick more often.


	14. Beat the Heat

“Ugh…” Cortana groaned, dripping sweat like it was nobody’s business. The way things had heated up outside, it felt like spring had come and gone over the course of a single day, and now they were all being subjected to an early summer.

“John…” Cortana spoke up pitifully. “I’m hot.”

John didn’t look up from where he was working on the torso plate of his armor. “Well, I’m certain most people would consider you an attractive woman.”

“You know damn well that’s not what I meant.” Cortana shot back, trying to fan herself with a discarded book.

“What do you expect me to do about it?” John raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

“Install central air conditioning?”

“Which is a no for obvious reasons.” John replied. Even though the lab’s been moved out of, there was no way John was letting anyone outside the circle of trust know the location of the cabin.

“We could go to Starcourt?” Cortana suggested.

“The new mall?” John remembered hearing something about it on the news, and Cortana nodded, confirming the suspicion.

“I hear they have an ice cream shop in there.” Cortana relayed. She frowned, as an errant thought took hold. “Funny thing, ice cream. Kind of like snow, except much thicker, and you can eat it. Never had it myself.”

“Cortana.”

“Yes?”

“You’re rambling again.”

“Sorry.” Cortana apologized with an embarrassed flinch. “It’s just… I _really_ want chocolate ice cream. With celery.”

“Celery?”

“Oh!” Cortana’s eyes excitedly widened. “I think I’m having a craving! That’s new, I’ve never had a craving before!”

John sighed, shaking his head. “You want to make a trip all the way to the other side of town just for ice cream?”

Cortana rolled her eyes. “Well, not _just_ for ice cream. The pool’s supposed to be open. I figure, a trip to the mall for ice cream, then a dip in the pool after. Perfect summer weather activities.”

“Even though it’s late-spring.” John pointed out.

“Same difference.” Cortana shrugged. “Come on… We can take the risk.”

“And the fact that you and El can’t swim?”

“I can swim!” Cortana defended. “…If swimming constitutes flailing and drowning.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Well… Think of it as a teaching experience.”

“Hm.” John crossed his arms. “Fine, let’s go.”

****

First stop was, of course, the mall. El, who had never been in the place before, looked around with wide eyes. It was like the downtown shopping district, but all indoors, an idea that boggled her mind for a good fifteen minutes. Being the explorer she was, she wanted to go into damn near every store, but recognizing that the time in the day was limited, acquiesced to visiting a scant few shops. She’d make sure to come back though.

First stop were the clothing shops. John had made sure to procure clothes for Cortana and El both, shortly after taking El in, and shortly after Cortana had become human, but not included in that were bathing suits. So, that was the first item to tick off the list. El had chosen a green one-piece, and Cortana had picked a blue two-piece.

Once that was out of the way, the next item was safety equipment. Which was John’s way of describing the floatation devices that went around the upper arm. (He absolutely refused to call them floaties.) As well as sunscreen.

Finally, the three headed towards the ice cream shop, looking upon it with confusion before they entered it.

“…Are you sure this is the ice cream shop?” Cortana questioned.

“It said so on the map.” John pointed out.

“I don’t understand.” El said. “This looks more like… seafood.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Cortana stated. “I don’t know who chose the theme, but I’d like to know what was running through their head. Come on, let’s just get our ice cream and go.”

John nodded, leading the other two into the shop. Cortana already knew what she wanted, but El was a bit more indecisive, looking at each colorful tub with wide eyes. She finally settled on strawberry, and John paid, forgoing the sugary dessert himself, leading them out to the table outside.

“Hm.” El made the sound as she shoveled it into her mouth.

“How is it?” John inquired.

“Good. Cold, but good.” El answered. Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed, and John turned to follow her gaze, landing on Cortana.

Cortana froze in place, eyes darting between the two, as a stick of celery with chocolate ice cream at one end inched closer to her mouth. It made a resounding snap, as Cortana took a bite out of it, and she let out a contented sigh, leaning back in the booth.

“Ah, that hit the spot.” Seeing John and El’s looks, Cortana raised an eyebrow. “What? I told you, I had a craving.”

“Where’d you even get the celery?” El questioned.

“I brought it.” Cortana answered, going for another scoop.

“How are you stomaching that?” John inquired.

“It’s good.”

“Really?” El’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“It is!” Cortana insisted. “Oh!” Her hand shot to her forehead. “Brain freeze!”

****

By the time they arrived at the public pool, it was already packed with people. Teenagers looking to fool around, adults trying to beat the heat, and kids just running around and having fun.

“There are so many people.” El remarked, looking upon the sight with unease. “And I don’t know how to swim.”

“Don’t worry.” Cortana said, a towel around her waist, a large straw hat on her head, with sunglasses concealing her eyes. She turned to John with a smile. “You’ll walk us through it?”

“I think I can show you a thing or two.” John responded, leading Cortana and El to the stairs down into the shallow end of the pool.

El looked on the pool with a slight fear, doubtlessly reminded of the Bath. In order to keep her calm, and to show her it wasn’t that bad, John took to the water first, gently leading El alongside him. At first, El was obviously fearful, but as she got further and further into the water, she became calm, especially with John staying at her side. John spotted what looked to be a quiet corner of the shallow end, and began moving towards it, helping El along.

“We’ll start out with the basics.” John began to instruct, as Cortana followed suit. “Humans are naturally buoyant, which means our bodies tend to float on their own.”

“If we float on our own, then why do I need these?” El looked to the inflated floaties on her arms.

“We can float if the water remains still, we keep calm, and we focus on keeping our heads above the water.” John explained, as they came to a stop. “But because we’re trying to teach you how to actually swim, it might be a bit much for you to all focus on at once. Now, swimming is rather easy.” John began. “What you want to do, is lean forward, like so.” John said, positioning himself, but keeping his head above, “Then, you begin paddling.” John instructed, shooting into a breaststroke.

El’s mouth parted in awe, as John shot across the pool at lightning speeds, catching the attention of even a few other attendants. John launched himself off the wall in the deep end, and came barreling back, crossing the wave that he made that still hadn’t settled. The whole thing had only taken about forty seconds in all, which, given the size of the pool and the people in the way, was especially impressive.

“See?” John rhetorically asked, coming to a stop. “Easy.”

Cortana and El looked at each other apprehensively.

John sighed to himself. It was going to be much more difficult than that, wasn’t it?

****

“Okay,” John began, after a good solid hour of practice had gone past. “I’m going to remove your floats now.” He told El, pulling off the plastic rings.

“Okay…” El let out a shaky sigh.

“Don’t worry, we’re still in the shallow end.” He informed. “Now, you see that wall over there?” He pointed to the other wall across the shallow end, and El nodded. “I want you to try to swim over to it and back. Without touching the floor.”

El sharply inhaled. “I-I can’t-“

“El.” John steadied her. “You can do it. I believe in you.”

“So do I!” Cortana called, lapping the two.

El, still looking on a little fearfully, stood in place.

“I’ll be right here.” John said. “I won’t let anything happen.”

El slowly nodded, and John released his gentle hold, stepping out of the way. El shakily kneeled down into the water and began propelling herself forward slowly. At first, she was slow moving, gently darting around the people in the way. Once she got to the wall and turned around, she laid eyes upon Cortana and John, and shot forward like a bullet, crossing the obstacles in her way.

El came back with a giant smile on her face, as she came to a stop between Cortana and John.

“I did it!” El beamed.

“Ha ha, you sure did!” Cortana gave the girl a double high five.

El grinned and turned to John.

John returned it with a gentle smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’m proud of you, El. You did very good.”

El continued smiling, even as she went in for a hug.

Well, there was yet another reason to like the pool.


	15. Touch II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the next part of a puzzle that began in the last one. Try to figure out what it is.
> 
> Then again, the 'puzzle' is probably quite blatant, so this could all be a colossal waste of text.

Having a physical form is something that, Cortana thinks, most humans take for granted. It’s not their fault, she recognizes. It’s hard to well and truly value something you’ve had your entire life, but for Cortana, she hasn’t had it her entire life.

She was nine years old when she got the new body. Barely an adolescent in human terms, but ancient as far as AI were concerned. That amount of time, she thinks, gives her a rather unique perspective on the human condition. She doesn’t take her new life for granted.

She values it all. Every taste and smell, every sound reverberating through her skeleton. Even the less pleasant sensations, such as the sudden bout of fatigue she’s occasionally hit with, she treats every last one like it’s precious, like something to be cherished. For she hadn’t known the value of them until now, and she will never forget it.

But by far, the one thing she values the most is touch.

Cortana doesn’t sleep as much as other humans. When she lays next to John as he falls asleep, she stays awake long past the SPARTAN’s own descent into dreamland. Even the unusual fatigue she’s feeling at the moment isn’t enough to pull her into sleep, and she stays up, absently running her fingers along the scars dotting his otherwise unblemished skin.

She takes stock of every one. There’s one along his jawline where an Elite managed to get a lucky hit in with an energy sword, but John’s luck was far stronger, and the blade stopped just short of his throat. There’s another that runs underneath his left eye, shaped almost like a seven, where a needler shard punctured his helmet, he’d managed to yank the crystal out just before it detonated, and he was lucky it hadn’t gone any deeper than that. And of course, there are the scars from his augments, all angular and geometric, like circuitry lines running over his entire body. The small part of her left over from Doctor Halsey feels regret upon looking at those. He’s told her time and time again he’d forgiven Doctor Halsey…

But that didn’t make looking at them any less devastating. Almost every time, Cortana sighs. Really, Doctor Halsey was no better than Brenner. Both took children, forced them into a life of service far beyond what anyone could reasonably expect, and incurred more than a hefty sum of deaths along the way. Really, the only difference between them was that Halsey at least had the decency to be genuinely regretful for her actions.

But, Cortana supposes, that what makes John such a good caretaker for El. He knows, at least on some level, what she’s been through. He can make adjustments to his own teaching style to make her more comfortable. However, he’s also learned a bit from El. Not about the world, or how things work, but how to be human. John didn’t show much emotion, but ever since taking in El, he’d been warming up more and more, only going into silent stoic mode when there was a crisis at hand.

And speaking of El, Cortana visits in on her room some nights. Cortana doesn’t intend to make a disturbance, or to be spying, but sometimes she can hear El’s whimpering through the door, and her newly human instincts take over, and she pushes her way into the room.

Cortana sees the tiny, yet ever-growing form shuddering with fear, and Cortana reaches out to her, wrapping El in an embrace, whispering quietly into her ear that everything will be fine. Sometimes El wakes up, and returns it, and sometimes she doesn’t, but noticeably calms. And in either case, the ending is much the same.

Cortana gives El a gentle kiss on the forehead, and lays down next to her, chasing away the nightmares with her simple presence. Sometimes El wakes up the next morning with the memory of the nightmare, and thanks Cortana for being there, other times, El wakes up in confusion, but can make an educated guess at what happened thanks to Cortana’s presence.

Cortana doesn’t know when the whole ‘mothering’ thing began to suit her so much, but she’s kind of glad it does.

And she values it. Just as much as touch.


	16. Let's All Go To Chicago!

“We should get a car.” Cortana said, looking upon a used car ad on the TV.

“A car?” John repeated. “We can walk just fine.”

“With the way you complained about the cold these last two winters?” Cortana raised an eyebrow.

“Why do we need a car?”

“Because if I have to put up with walking into downtown for much longer in this heat, I’m going to wind up killing something.” Cortana answered. “I’m not built for the hotter months, you know.

“A car would be cool.” El suddenly spoke up from her room, as she and Will worked on a painting together. “We’d get to places faster.”

Cortana nodded her agreement, snapping her fingers. “That. And, we wouldn’t have to request lifts, and we could get the kids back home ourselves. Minimize exposure to the cabin.”

“Can we even legally drive?” John questioned.

“Yep.” Cortana answered. She walked to the dresser in their room, and pulled out the envelopes that Hopper had delivered to them from Owens. She popped one open, reached inside, and presented one of the contents to John.

“A driver’s license?” John asked, looking down at it. “Where’d he even get this photo?”

“I sent it to him.” Cortana answered. “Owens told Hopper, who told me, so I snuck it while you weren’t looking.”

“Impressive.” John granted. “It looks like it was taken in an actual DMV.”

“I hope so.” Cortana stated. “Apparently, doctoring photos is one of Owens’s ‘skills.’ But I digress, legally, we can drive. Well, more so you. I know about driving in theory, not in practice.”

“So…” El approached, Will trailing behind. “What kind of car are we getting?”

“Well, for that, we’re going to make a trip.” Cortana said. “To a…” Cortana sighed. “Dealership.” She hurled the last word with distaste.

“What’s your problem with dealerships?” El questioned.

“Most of them are designed to get as much money out of you as possible.” Cortana answered

“But,” El tilted her head, “We have money. Lots.”

“I may have foreknowledge of the stock market, but that doesn’t mean I want to blow our money willy-nilly.” She responded. “Most car dealerships are designed to wear down the person to the point where they’ll agree to anything to just get out of there. I may have never owned a car myself, but believe me when I say; _buy used.”_

“Do you even know where a car dealership is around here?” Will inquired innocently. “Hawkins isn’t exactly the largest town in America.”

“Well…” Cortana turned around. “Chicago’s not _too_ far away,”

“Chicago?” John repeated. “You want to go buy a car all the way in _Chicago?”_

“Don’t look at me like that.” Cortana rolled her eyes. “It’s a big city, so our selection will be larger.”

“Exactly.” John stated. “It’s a big city, with lots of security cameras, and a sizable police presence.”

“We’ll be fine.” Cortana replied. “You think some meter-maid’s going to report us? I mean, look at El!” Cortana pointed. “She doesn’t even look like she did when that first broadcast aired!”

Cortana did have a point there. El had gotten significantly taller, her hair had grown out to cover her ears, her skin had darkened slightly to a more normal shade thanks to her outdoor activities, couple that with the way human faces tended to change slightly over time anyway, and she was practically unrecognizable from the pale, buzzcut child that she had once been.

“Plus, it _is_ the big city.” Cortana pointed out. “You know what that means… new experiences for El.”

Well, he did have a hard time denying El new experiences.

John sighed. “Fine, but _you_ have to ask Hopper to give us a ride.” He told Cortana.

Cortana nodded, and went for the phone.

John shook his head. “There’s no way he’s going to go for this.”

****

“I can’t believe you went for this.” John stated, in the passenger seat of Hopper’s blazer.

Hopper chuckled slightly, a cigar poking out of the corner of his mouth. “Your wife is a very persuasive woman.” Hopper inspected the cigar again. “What brand did you say this was?”

“Sweet William.” Cortana answered. “They’re a favorite in the 26th century. I didn’t even realize they _existed_ in this century until I wandered by the tobacco shop.”

“Hm.” Hopper noted, putting it back in his mouth, puffing out smoke. “So, what in Sam Hill made you want to go all the way out to Chicago to get a car?”

“Ask her.” John pointed to Cortana in the back. “It was her bright idea.”

Cortana rolled her eyes. “I told you already, big city, wider selection. Besides, it might be fun.”

“What even is there to do in… Chicago?” El furrowed her eyebrow.

Cortana shrugged. “I don’t know.” She looked out of the window and was hit with a wave of nausea. She looked away, shaking her head. “We’d better get there soon, though. I don’t think I’m much of a car person. How much longer?”

“It’s Chicago.” Hopper stated. “We’re still about…” Hopper looked to the sign on the side of the interstate. “Three hours out.”

Cortana sighed, and covered her mouth as she felt another wave of nausea hit. “Okay… I might vomit before we get there.”

“Not in my car!”

John sighed. It was going to be a long three hours.


	17. Let's All Go TO Chicago! Part Two

El looked upon the giant glass and steel towers with wonder, having never seen buildings so large in her life. The concrete pathways, the large grid-like roads, and the massive monoliths of metal, all stood out to El in an alien, yet still slightly familiar way.

“Wow...” Cortana looked out the window, as the buildings passed them by. “Old Chicago… Look!” She pointed out. “Millennium Park! Well, Millennium Park before it actually became Millennium Park, construction on it won’t begin until… nineteen ninety-seven?” Cortana looked around with wonder on her own part. “All of this becomes part of the Great Lakes Spaceport, one of the highest-density spaceports on the planet.”

“Hey.” Hopper looked at her in the rearview mirror. “You got anything bout Hawkins in that big brain of yours?”

“That’s, um…” Cortana looked for a word. “Spoilers.”

“Come on…”

“Well, let me see…” Cortana sighed, searching around. “Oh! Hawkins is integrated into zone eight of the Greater Chicago Industrial Area. It becomes home to a facility owned by Acheron Security.”

“Industry, huh?” Hopper repeated. “What gets made there?”

“Well, there’s the VISR system used by most marines and ODSTs, HAZOP-class MJOLNIR, and… Oh, and tanks.” Cortana explained. “Lots and lots of tanks.”

“Tanks?” Hopper repeated. “Just when I think I got used to you babbling about the future, you find more ways to surprise me.”

“Weren’t we here to get a car?” John pointed out, trying to steer them back on track. “I don’t see any dealerships around here.”

“Chicago’s a big place.” Cortana stated a bit facetiously. “We drive around long enough, I’m sure we’ll find something.”

“Look.” El pointed out her window, down an adjacent street. Sure enough, there was a line of cars with garish price stickers in the windshields.

“See, there’s one now.” Cortana said. “We should go for it… Unless it says Big Bill Hell’s.”

“What?” John raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing.” Cortana stated, as Hopper pulled into the lot. The four emerged from the vehicle, looking a around at the selection of vehicles. “You don’t have to come with us.” Cortana told Hopper, as the salesman began to approach.

“Nah, I know how these guys are.” Hopper responded under his breath, viewing the man. “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

“Greetings!” The salesman beamed, approaching them. The salesman’s deep booming voice betrayed his young face. “Greetings! Greetings! Welcome to John Smith’s used cars. I’m John Smith.”

“But the sign says Easy Eddy’s…” Cortana pointed to the sign, slightly put off by the man’s British accent, deep voice, Cheshire cat grin, wild curls, and out-of-style dress. It was almost eighty degrees, yet he was wearing a big coat, ridiculously long scarf, and absolutely _owning_ it.

“Hm, so it does.” Smith looked to the sign. He looked back down to them with an apologetic look. “Typos do happen.” He grinned. “Now, onto business. Dreadful thing, but I suppose it’s why you’re here. Is there something I can assist you with?”

“We’re here for a car.” John stated simply.

“Well, it’s fortunate you came to me!” Smith held his hands out widely, smiling just as wide as his arms were stretched out. The smile disappeared and he leaned in, stage-whispering to them. “There’s a bit of a problem with all of the car dealerships in this area. You know how it is, atmospheric scrubbers in engines malfunctioning and spitting out toxic gas.” He leaned back and allowed another grin to overtake him. “But none of that here! Now… Is there a particular vehicle you had in mind, or…?”

“We’re…” Cortana looked to John again, sufficiently put off. “Just browsing.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Smith responded. He gestured down the line of cars. “How about we start… over there? I’ve checked all these ones, I assure you, and there are no problems with these whatsoever… I think. To be honest, the automobile is not my forte.” He admitted, leading the four. “I prefer much more advanced machinery. Four-dimensional engineering, for instance…”

As the three adults proceeded on, led by Smith, El lagged behind, staying by Hopper’s Blazer. The girl felt something. Something twisting in the air. There was a presence, for lack of a better term, nearby. El couldn’t describe it, only that it felt… familiar somehow.

El closed her eyes, and steadied her breathing, focusing on the strange aura she could feel nearby. Her breathing became rapid, as a series of images began intruding into her mind. A group of people in raggedy clothes, gathered in an alleyway. A door painted over slightly with graffiti in the same alley. A different group of people, dressed in clothes that looked to befit a heavy metal band more than anything else, gathered in an abandoned building, eating together. And someone else. A… girl? Woman? El had never seen her before, but she seemed… familiar somehow. El focused on her specifically, and gasped, as the woman’s gaze turned to exactly where El was standing, and focused, as though the woman could see her there plain as day.

El’s eyes snapped open, and she calmed herself. She could feel the woman’s mind. The woman was… cold, distant, and filled with rage. But El _knew_ her somehow. Like… someone knowing what something was without remembering where they had learned about it. It was just… there. But El recognized her, where from she couldn’t say, but if the woman could _see_ El… Did that mean she was like her? El found herself freaked out, yet strangely comforted by that idea. John was like her in a way, but not in the abilities he possessed. For someone else to be like her in that way…

El looked to the others, being led on by the odd man. The woman was nearby, that much El was sure of, and El needed to get answers. To know for sure. She looked to Smith’s odd, bumbling demeanor that seemed to make things take longer than was strictly necessary. El wanted to ask John if they could check it out, but it looked like it was going to take a while, and once they got the car, they would likely want to get back to Hawkins ASAP.

Well, if Smith was keeping them occupied… might as well take the opportunity. Besides, she wouldn’t be gone long, if El’s hunch was correct, and they always were. El nodded to herself and waited for the others to get out of sight. Once she was sure the others couldn’t see her, she took off, onto the sidewalk, determined to track the presence to its source.

Alone.


	18. Let's All Go To Chicago! Part Three

“What about this one?” Cortana asked of John, looking at a Volkswagen Beetle.

“Oh, fine car, that one.” Smith intruded, flashing yet another toothy grin. “I helped Dr. Porsche work on the first models, you know. Did have to stop myself from punching Hitler when he came round to look at the design…” He shot a look at them like he was letting them in on a long-held secret. “I don’t count myself as a particularly violent person, but I was sorely tempted, you understand.”

“That’s great.” Hopper humored him.

“I am not driving a car that small.” John stated, crossing his arms.

“Yes, well, you are a rather large fellow, aren’t you?” Smith smiled, directing them over to another row. “What about these ones? I’m reasonably certain these are ordinary cars.”

“Hm…” Cortana turned to Hopper. “What do you think?”

“Your money, not mine.” Hopper responded. “I just want to get out of here.”

“Ah, yes! Things to go, places to be, and all that.” Smith intruded.

“El, what about-“ Cortana turned to her side, freezing when her eyes landed on nothing. “Where’s El?”

“She should be over by the Blazer.” John stated.

Cortana looked over the aisles, towards the Chevrolet, freezing in fear when her eyes came up empty. “John, she’s not there.”

“Not there?” John repeated, going into a slight panic herself. “If someone took her-“

“Well, if you ask me, it looked like she had other places to be.” Smith intruded.

“What?” Hopper questioned; his voice low.

Smith recoiled back slightly. “You’re talking about the… the, um… What’s your term for the smaller members of your species?”

“Child?” Hopper gritted out, entirely not in the mood for his games.

“Yes,” Smith grinned. “That’s it. She was just standing over there and walked away. I had assumed she was just going for a stroll.”

“A stroll?” Cortana repeated. “A _stroll!?_ You saw a child go to take a walk in the streets of a big city by herself, and you didn’t think to mention it!?”

“Oh, I thought about it.” Smith admitted. “But we were having such a delightful time looking at the cars. I didn’t want to spoil the moment.”

Cortana, in a panicked fury, pushed her way past Smith, running to the edge of the lot. “El!” She yelled. “El!”

John turned to Smith, looking upon the man dangerously. “How long has she been gone?” John demanded.

Smith, to his credit, wasn’t fased in the slightest. “Oh, about… thirty minutes.”

 _“WHAT!?”_ Cortana yelled, whipping back around.

“No need to shout.” Smith held up his hands placatingly. “I was just answering the man’s question.”

“We have to find her.” John turned to Hopper, the Police Chief already running over to the Blazer.

“Oh no, no.” Smith said. “That just won’t do. If you aim to search for her, you can’t possibly cover enough ground in one vehicle alone. Unless it’s a… Well, that’s neither here nor there.”

“Our daughter is on the streets on her own…” Cortana shook angrily. “And you’re still trying to _SELL US A CAR!?”_

“No.” Smith chuckled. “Don’t be daft. I’m _giving_ you a car.” The whole place fell in silence. “Well, don’t just stand there! Take your pick.”

Cortana began searching the place frantically, her eyes gliding over all shapes and sizes of car, before landing on a cherry-red ’67 Chevy Impala. “This one.”

“Excellent choice.” Smith smiled. “Allow me to get the key.” He speedwalked into the office, the others trailing behind him.

Upon entering, a man in a checkered suit, tied up on the floor, looked up at them with a pleading look. “Thank the lord! This man, he’s crazy!”

“Oh, don’t mind him.” Smith told the others, stepping over him, going for where the keys were kept. “He’s just grumpy because I managed to foil his evil plan. Don’t worry, the proper authorities will be here in time.” He grabbed the key, handing it off to Cortana. The moment the metal landed in her palm, she ran back out towards the Impala, John following.

Hopper climbed into his Blazer, pulling out of the lot, going right. John took the key from Cortana, climbing into the driver’s seat, pulling out of the lot to the left.

“Oh, and good luck on the pregnancy!” Smith shouted, as both cars receded into the distance.

“She wasn’t pregnant, you moron!” The man on the floor yelled.

“Oh? Hm, must be time to get the old nose checked…”

“You’re crazy, you hear me!? Crazy!”

“Oh, be quiet, you.”


	19. We're All Going To Chicago! Part Four

El knows where she’s going. She doesn’t know how, she just… _does._ It comes to her like an instinct, compelling her down the winding streets of the windy city. She dimly registers that she’s gone quite far from the others, but she doesn’t care, it’s like an itch she _has_ to scratch.

El turns down an alleyway, filled with the same, raggedy-dressed people she had seen in her vision. A couple get out of her way, as El tries to project an aura of dangerousness around herself. Another tries to mock her, cackling madly. It doesn’t faze her, she’d seen far, far worse in her own head.

El came out of the other side of the alleyway, coming face-to-face with a building made out of corrugated steel. Through the small, square window of the door, El could see unsteady flickering, like a fire, or broken lightbulb. It was where she needed to go, she could sense it.

El walked to the door, and pushed it open, trying to enter as quietly as she could. As she held onto the door, preventing it from slamming shut, El could hear the distant, indistinct voices of people overlapping.

El looked around as she walked forward, a slightly disgusted look on her face. She thought the cabin when she and John first moved in was bad, but this? This took the cake. The disgusting cake.

As El walked further into the building, she could pick out a group of people huddled around an impromptu table made out of concrete cinderblocks, eating and discussing with each other.

“Hello?” El called as she approached. She’d seen these people before seeing the woman. Did they know her somehow? It was worth a try.

All of them looked over to her in surprise.

“Well, well.” One of them, some punk with a mohawk supported by copious amounts of hair gel, spoke dangerously. “What do we have here?” He walked around the table, as the others stood up to join him.

She’d seen John talk about it. It was an… in-timid-ation tactic.

One of them, a blonde woman, scoffed. “What is she wearing?”

The black woman looked on in disgust. “It looks like it came from an explosion at the rainbow factory.”

El looked down at her outfit. It wasn’t _that_ bad. She’d stitched it up with Cortana after seeing the Doctor wear something similar on the TV. If it was good enough for him, it was good enough for her.

“This ain’t a pride festival, kid.” The blonde woman laughed. “Go back to California, or whatever.”

“I’m…” El spoke up, looking between each member of the group. “Looking for someone. You might know her.”

“Yeah, well, nobody here but us chickens.” Mohawk laughed.

“I saw her.” El stated, a bit forcefully. “With you. Short hair, black clothes, nose ring.”

One of them inhaled sharply. “Kali.”

El tilted her head. “Kali?”

“Who else knows you’re here?” Mohawk demanded.

“No one.” El answered, not intimidated.

“So what then?” Mohawk scoffed. “You show up out of nowhere asking specifically for Kali, you expect me to believe that?”

“Stay calm.” The black woman told him. “She’s just a kid.”

“A kid who could get us all killed.” He cut her off. Oh, if only he knew. “If I have to ask again,” He began lowly, flicking open a switchblade, “You’ll start losing things. Starting with those pretty little locks of yours, yeah?” He held the knife up, and El recoiled.

It wasn’t that she was afraid for herself, quite the opposite. But if he tried to hurt her, she was going to have to hurt him back, and she didn’t want to do that. Not while she was looking for answers.

“Come on, Axe.” The black woman yelled. “Put down the knife.”

“How did you find us?” He repeated getting closer.

Then, in a move that left El confused, the man looked at the hand holding the knife, and began freaking out, dropping the knife, and flailing around like something was crawling on him.

“Get off!” He yelled, wiping away something that wasn’t there. “Shit! Shit!”

“You’re a terrible dancer, Axel.” A new voice called from across the room, and he suddenly stopped. El’s eyes widened, as she laid eyes upon who could only be Kali.

“I told you,” Axel angrily pointed, “Stay outta my head!”

“So, we’re threatening little girls now, are we?” Kali sarcastically asked, approaching the others.

“She knows about you!” Axel pointed the finger at El.

“Oh?” Kali stepped closer. “How so?”

“I saw you.” El answered. “And you saw me.”

“This kid’s crazy, or something.” Axel threw out, going for his knife on the floor. Before he could grab onto it, it shot into the air, landing in El’s hand. “Holy shit!” He yelled.

El nonchalantly closed it, letting the others know with her body language that, no matter their numerical advantage, and older age, she was the one in absolute control.

“What is your name?” Kali inquired, walking around El, examining the younger girl up and down.

“El.” She answered.

Kali looked down to El’s left arm, and grasped onto it, pulling it up to look at. Kali turned El’s arm over, and pulled back the sleeve, looking at the ink on her wrist. Kali’s eyes widened very minutely, and she pulled back the sleeve on her arm, showing a similar tattoo that read 008.

El’s eyes widened to plate-size, and she looked into Kali’s eyes.

“Sister.” El breathed with a smile. She was right, she _had_ found someone truly like herself.

“Sister.” Kali returned

****

“Find anything yet?” Cortana spoke into the radio, voice shaky as she nearly hyperventilated.

 _“Nothing.”_ Hopper returned. _“You two?”_

“No.” Cortana answered, fighting back nervous tears.

“Don’t worry.” John spoke up from behind the wheel, as the car turned onto another street. He leaned out the open window, and began asking passers by if they’d seen El, offering up her description for good measure.

Every time, it was no.

None of them could lie, it was quickly getting quite worrying, and John himself, who was normally as calm and collected as anyone could possibly be, was getting extremely nervous. They had been at it for a few hours now, and there was still no sign of her. They had even looped back around to the dealership multiple times, to see if she was waiting there for them. Still, there was nothing.

 _“It’s starting to get pretty late.”_ Hopper radioed in. _“It’s already 10:45.”_

“What, so we should just give up!?” Cortana practically yelled. “We can’t just leave El in an unfamiliar city!”

 _“I didn’t say that. We should get a room for the night, continue tomorrow._ ” Hopper recommended.

“Understood.” John spoke over Cortana’s shoulder, into the radio. “We’ll rendezvous at the Drake. Out.”

“Wh-“ Cortana double-took. “That’s it!?”

“Hopper’s right.” John said. “As much as I want to keep searching, we won’t be able to keep it up forever.”

“How are you not worried about this!?” Cortana demanded. “El’s a teenager. A lone, teenage girl, in the middle of a city! Anything could go wrong!”

“I know.” John told her. “And I _am_ worried. But El isn’t like most other girls. Most other _people._ She can handle herself. And, if anyone tries anything, she had telekinesis, remember? And she can locate people with her mind. She’ll be alright.” He said, despite his own misgivings.

“Right… right…” Cortana slowly nodded. “But that doesn’t stop me from worrying.”

“That just means you’re a good mother.” John told her, turning on the road towards the hotel.

“Hey, how are we going to get a room?” Cortana questioned. “We don’t have a reservation.”

“We have something better.”

“Oh yeah? What?”

John grinned. “Money.”


	20. We're All Going to Chicago! Part Five

The moment Kali and El had shown each other their corresponding tattoos, Kali had wanted to speak with El in private, to ‘catch up’ as she had put it.

She had led El up to the roof of the building, procuring two old milk cartons for them to sit on. Kali had let El begin first, and El, leaving out the bits pertaining to the monsters from the Upside Down, filled Kali in on what she’d been up to all this time.

“And…” Kali began, sounding impartial. “You have no memory of me?”

El swallowed, a little bit ashamed of herself, and shook her head. “No.”

Kali frowned slightly and leaned forward. “How long has this… soldier been taking care of you?”

“Five-hundred-five days.” El answered. She’d been counting ever since running into John the day after opening the gate. Why? Not even El knew the full reason why, but she supposed it made it more real, in a way.

“And he takes care of you?”

El smiled. “Yes. Him and… mama.”

“And they’ve… worked out a deal.” Kali finished, that part the most unreal to her. “To set you free.”

“Jane Halsey.” El stated, like that explained everything. “We’re all real people now. They can’t do things to real people.”

“If he thinks that,” Kali shook her head, “He’s naïve. We’ll always be monsters to them.” Kali leaned forward. “Understand?”

El tilted her head in confusion. “How could we be? John is… like Captain America.” She still struggled with the word augmented. “And mama is a… computer lady.”

“And let me guess, your caretakers, they don’t like you using your gifts?” Kali questioned.

El frowned. What had given Kali that impression.

“John said they’re a part of me.” El explained. “He says it’s my choice whether I want to use them or not.”

“Well, I’m rather glad to hear that.” Kali clasped El’s hands in her own. “What you can do is incredible. What _we_ can do, is incredible.”

“You have it too.” El guessed.

“Yes.” Kali nodded. “But different. Look…” She directed El’s attention to her hand, and the younger girl gasped, seeing a bright, glowing rainbow butterfly appear from thin air, flying around El’s hand, and then her head.

“Pretty…” El reached out to touch it and recoiled when it exploded into a flurry of bubbles. “You used it before.” She deduced. “To make the man with the mohawk dance.”

Kali chuckled, as the bubbled began to morph into one butterfly each. “Axel is not so fond of spiders.”

El’s eyebrows shot up. “Spiders?”

“Yes… They weren’t real, just like these aren’t.” Kali explained, reaching out to pass her hand through one. “I’ve just convinced your mind it is.”

“Mind trick.” El stated. “Like Obi-Wan.”

Kali chuckled slightly again. “I suppose that’s one way to describe it.”

El frowned, as a thought crossed her mind. “Are you real?”

Kali smiled gently. “Quite real.”

El bit the inside of her cheek, and reached out to poke Kali in the chest.

It didn’t hurt to be safe.

****

El, upon yawning on the roof, had been shown to a makeshift bedroom by Kali. El had wanted to go find John and Cortana, but decided against it, upon being informed of the dangers of the nighttime streets.

So, there she was, sitting down on a mattress, with Kali across from her.

El tilted her head, as Kali wore an unreadable expression.

“What’s wrong?” El inquired.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Kali replied. “It’s just… I feel… whole now.”

El nodded with understanding. She had felt much of the same way upon being taken in by John.

“I have one more question, if you want to answer it…” Kali began. “How did you find me? Really?”

El shrugged. “I… felt you. So I reached out, and then I saw where you were. And then I knew.” El explained. “It was weird.”

Kali raised an eyebrow. “Weird how?”

“That’s not how it normally works.” El answered, entirely truthful. “I need to have something of someone’s to see them. Or I need to be really… emotional. There wasn’t either when I saw you.”

“Something of someone’s?” Kali questioned. “Like what?”

El shrugged again. “I use pictures.”

“Pictures…” Kali repeated. Her look of epiphany was usual to those who just found out about El’s abilities, but given she’d already found out, this was obviously something different. Still, Kali didn’t say anything else, as her eyes suddenly refocused. “Thank you. Goodnight.”

As Kali left, El’s brow furrowed in confusion. What a quick goodbye. Oh well, she’d have time to say a longer one tomorrow.

****

Cortana paced back and forth in the room nervously. Hopper was on one of the beds, shoes kicked off to the side, watching an episode of Miami Vice on the television. John was sat on the identical bed on the other side of the room, trying to listen in on police frequencies in case one of them had come into contact with El.

“I can’t take this anymore!” Cortana suddenly shouted, throwing her hands up. “I’m going to the bar!”

John raised a concerned eyebrow. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

“I already have nausea from the car, great driving by the way John, I almost _wasn’t_ carsick so, thanks for that.” Cortana responded. “It can’t get any worse.”

“Actually, it can.” Hopper retorted. “It can get much, much worse.”

“I can deal with it.”

“Spoken like someone who’s never puked out their stomach after a night of binge-drinking.” Hopper shook his head. “Trust me, the last thing you want to do when carsick is to chase it with beer. I would know.”

“I don’t drink beer.” Cortana crossed her arms. “I prefer bourbon.”

“Wait.” John’s head shot up from the radio. “You drink bourbon?”

“Don’t be silly.” Cortana rolled her eyes. “I don't drink _just_ bourbon, I drink anything at least 80-proof.” She shrugged. “It numbs the emotional trauma.”

“But where do you keep it?” John inquired. “And out of reach from El?”

Cortana winked with a sly grin. “Now, a lady’s got to keep some secrets.”


	21. We're All Going to Chicago! Part Six

Cortana groaned, rubbing her forehead as she stirred in the bed. Looking under the covers at her… exposed form, she groaned.

“That better be John next to me, or heads are going to roll.” Cortana gritted out, over the pain of her hangover. She really needed to lay off the whiskey.

“Don’t worry.” John spoke up next to her.

Cortana let out a relieved sigh, flopping back onto the pillow.

She turned to look at the bed across the room. “Where’s Hopper?” She questioned.

“I’m pretty sure he went to go sleep in the tub once the… fun started.” John guessed.

“Well, at least we don’t have to worry about finding him.” Cortana tried to find the silver lining. “What time is it?”

“Oh-nine-hundred.” John answered.

Cortana sighed. “I guess that means it’s time to get up, huh? Where are my clothes?”

John pointed to a pile in the corner, and Cortana threw the blanket off, going for the discarded pile in the corner.

Cortana frowned as she got dressed, some of her clothes feeling tighter than they had been last night.

“Oof,” Cortana grimaced, “I think I drunk too much last night.”

“What was your first indication?” John raised his eyebrow, pulling a faux-leather jacket over a plain white t-shirt.

“Other than the fact that I have no idea what the hell happened last night after we started drinking?” Cortana sarcastically replied. “I feel bloated. It’s _not_ a nice feeling… I think this is how beer bellies get started. Speaking of beer bellies, which one of us wants to be the poor sap who has to wake up Hopper?”

“Not it.”

“Damn you.” Cortana sighed, stomping over to the bathroom door. She banged on it, so loud that people on the other floors were probably able to hear it as she wiggled the knob. “Hopper! Wake your discount store Tom Sellick-looking ass up, we’ve got work to do!” She banged again. “I’m coming in, if you’re not dressed, I’m going to kill you and then myself!”

“Argh, I’m up, I’m up…” Hopper groaned, pulling himself up out of the tub. “Damn… You really know how to shout, don’t you?”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Cortana shot back. “You’re not hungover, are you?”

“No, you were the only one who actually drunk anything last night.” Hopper stood up and grimaced, groaning as he worked out the kink in his neck. “So, I guess it’s time we get back to it?”

Cortana nodded.

Hopper sighed. “Can I at least get coffee first?”

****

Kali dropped down a collection of ID cards on the table in front of her. Her gang stood behind her, as El looked on the cards with an inquisitive gaze.

“Everyone you see here,” Kali began, gesturing at the cards. “Was responsible in some way for what happened to us.”

El sharply inhaled, looking down at the cards with a glare.

“You…” El picked one of the cards up. “Hunt down the bad men?”

“No,” The blonde next to Kali sneered. “We just let ‘em run around, do as they please.

El turned her glare to the woman. She was no stranger to sarcasm; it came with living with Cortana. “What do you do when you find them? Kill them?”

Kali nodded. “We’re not the only ones they’ve hurt. These men are criminals. We simply make them pay for those crimes. Something that the ‘authorities’ refuse to do.”

That didn’t seem right to El. One night, one very bad night when El asked why she shouldn’t go after the bad men, John called it ‘cruelty to beget cruelty,’ and said that seeking vengeance against a perceived injustice didn’t make things right, just continued the cycle of hate. And give the people who already hated you to become even more set in their ways.

But El couldn’t lie… She was tempted. These were the same people that hurt her, hurt Kali, hurt Terry… If they were allowed to go free, they could hurt someone again.

And El would not stand for that. John was always going on about duty. How people like him had to protect others who couldn’t protect themselves, and since John couldn’t locate the bad men himself, that left the responsibility to El.

She briefly wondered what he would think. What they would all think if she did it. Would they be glad for her, or would they become fearful of her for what she had done?

El, for a brief moment, couldn’t entertain the thought. If John knew what she was doing, then… But then again, John wasn’t there with her. He didn’t have the ability to spy on others no matter the physical distance.

He didn’t have to know.


	22. We're all going to Chicago! Part Seven

“These are the bad men, as you call them.” Kali began, leading El into a room with pictures and newspaper clippings on one wall. Some had inky black crosses crossed over them, others were left blank. “The ones we believe are still alive.” Kali turned to El with an inquisitive look. “Do you recognize any of them?”

El’s brow furrowed, as she examined each snippet. She didn’t recognize any of them, her eyes gliding effortlessly over the snippets. That is, until she landed on one, and she froze up.

She recognized him. Average height, balding, and fat. El briefly flashed back to the images Terry had showed her, that cold December night back before the business with the Primordial went down. El could faintly feel the sting of electricity running through her, as the memory of Dr. Brenner ordering the man to set the machine lanced through her mind.

“Him.” El spat, pointing at the newspaper clipping. “He hurt my mother.”

“His name is Ray Carroll.” Kali informed, looking over at the clipping. “And he did far more than that.”

Briefly, a new image intruded into El’s mind, of a Kali that was much younger, being pushed back against a wall, shocked with a cattle prod.

“The bad men like Ray,” Kali continued, and she was so nonchalant that El was unsure if the image came from Kali or another source. “They know about us. It’s made them hard to track.” She turned to El. “But maybe not anymore.”

****

The gang, even if they didn’t understand how El’s abilities worked, were accommodating of what she needed in order for them to work.

El focused, over the noisy thoughts of the people around her, and allowed herself to get lost in the static.

And then she saw him. The man responsible for her biological mother’s vegetative state and the constant perpetually repeating nightmare she was trapped in… and he was sitting at a table, acting carefree.

How was it fair? That this monster who had tortured children got to go free, while a mother who had wanted nothing more than to save her baby was tortured into catatonia?

But now… now she knew where he was. She could track him down, get justice for Terry, herself, and all the others who had been harmed at his hands.

And nothing would stop her.

****

 _“Still nothing.”_ Hopper reported, radioing the other car.

Cortana sighed. “Much of the same here, I’m afraid.” Cortana looked downtrodden. “What if we can’t find her?”

“Don’t worry.” John placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find her.”

“So you keep saying.” Cortana swallowed. “But what if we don’t? What if something’s happened?”

“Cortana.” John steadied her. “I know you’re worried. Terrified. Trust me, I am too. But worrying over and over, dwelling on it, isn’t going to help calm you down.”

“And what!?” Cortana demanded. “We’re just supposed to _hope_ everything works out!?”

“No.” John shook his head. “But we shouldn’t let stress get to us.”

Cortana nodded slowly, staring ahead. “It’s hard. Not getting stressed over it. Especially given…”

John raised an eyebrow. “Given what?”

“Well it’s…” Cortana nervously jittered. “I used the bathroom before we left this morning.”

“Too much information, Cortana.”

“Just shut up and listen, John.” She replied, completely not in the mood to play around. “And I hadn’t realized it, but I missed-“

 _“Guys, I’ve got something!”_ Hopper’s voice crackled excitedly. _“Got police chatter of a gang, robbing a gas station. One of the members matches El’s description.”_

“Where is it?” John inquired.

_“A 7-Eleven on the road to Lilburn, about an hour east.”_

“John, if we move now, we can still catch up!” Cortana calculated in her mind.

John nodded, and set on course, pushing the new car as fast as it could move. “We’re in pursuit.”

_“10-4, so am I.”_

“What were you saying, Cortana?” John inquired, speeding down the highway.

“…El first.” Cortana stated, and John nodded, letting the subject drop for now.

There were more pressing matters to attend to. Something that was more important than possible pregnancy.


	23. We're All Going to Chicago! Part Eight

The Impala came to a screeching halt, in front of a small gas station off the road. Police cars from the local town were parked around the gas station, sirens still flashing red and blue.

“This is the place?” John questioned, turning to the woman next to him.

“It has to be.” Cortana said. “Don’t see any other 7-Elevens around here.”

John nodded, and opened the door, stepping out onto the pavement. “Hopper.” He addressed, approaching the cop. “Anything?”

“I was able to squeeze a few details out of these guys.” Hopper explained, as the rest of the cops went about their business. “Not a lot. But get this, the guy saw his toilet leaking, but when he tried to stop the gang, the place was completely dry. Like the toilet hadn’t even overflowed in the first place. Can you-know-who… make people see things?”

“I’ve never seen her do it.” John stated. “But, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Anyone say who she was with.”

“Just that they were dressed like punks.” Hopper informed. “But it didn’t look like she was there against her will.”

Cortana sighed. “Well, at least there’s that. So, what now? Did anyone see where they were headed?”

“No.” Hopper sighed. “But they had to have been going somewhere. Even the most stupid crooks wouldn’t come all the way out here to rob a gas station.”

Cortana furrowed her brow, thinking. “Joining a gang and turning over convenience stores… What’s gotten into you, El?”

****

Night had fallen as they pulled into the town of Lilburn. The van was put into park, and the gang began to plan out the next sequence of events.

“We should case the place, stick to the routine.” Mick outlined, turning around. “We have time.”

“We also have her.” Kali countered, looking to El. “Can you look?” She requested.

El nodded once, and closed her eyes, reaching out mentally into the space around her. Truthfully speaking, she didn’t know how it worked, only that it did, and the image flickered into her mind.

El’s eyes snapped open, and she turned back to Kali. “He’s watching TV.”

“Is he alone?” Mick questioned.

“I could only see him.” El stated. “Nobody else.”

“Sounds good to me.” Dottie bounced excitedly in the back.

“Me too.” Funshine agreed, pulling on his mask. “Let’s do this.”

The doors to the van opened, and five of them got out, Mick pulling the van around, out of sight.

El was finally about to get her rightful retribution.


	24. We're All Going to Chicago! Part Eight (cont.)

When they entered the house, Carroll was fiddling with his TV, entirely unaware that there were complete and total strangers intruding in his house.

The four of them all congregated around the lamp, standing and staring at the man as he tried to fix his problem.

“Hello, Ray.” Kali spoke through her mask, startling the man.

Carroll whipped around, staring at the intruders with fear.

“Jesus Christ!” Carroll yelled, trying to make a run for the front door, Funshine going to block the man in response.

“Sit down.” Funshine ordered. “Please.”

Carroll swallowed nervously, holding up his hands.

“I said sit.” Funshine repeated, forcing Carroll down into the nearby recliner.

“Just, please…” Carroll fearfully stuttered. “Just take what you want.”

“Oh, we will.” Axel sarcastically responded, leaning forward in a mocking manner.

“Where’s your wallet?” Dottie demanded.

“Bedroom. My bedroom. My jeans.” Carroll directed, growing ever more anxious by the second.

“Come on.” Dottie directed to Axel, the man taking off after her.

Kali gestured to El, and the two of them went to stand in front of Carroll, the man looking on the both of them with terrified confusion.

Kali reached up to pull off her mask, and El followed suit, staring at Carroll accusingly.

“Do you remember us Ray?” Kali demanded, and Carroll shook his head in confusion.

Kali tilted her head, and the lights in the room began to flicker. When they returned to a steady level, Carroll inhaled sharply, as he took in the illusory forms of the two children in front of him.

“What about us Ray?” Kali taunted, speaking in a sing-song tone. “Do you remember us?”

“Oh my God…” Carroll shook with fear. The wind was suddenly knocked out of him, as an invisible fist collided against the side of his face, and he was pulled to the floor.

“Please.” Carroll begged, looking up pleadingly at El. “Please.”

El fixed the man with a look of utter contempt and nothing else. “You hurt my mother.” El threw her head to the side, and Carroll went flying across the room.

The drywall cracked against his weight, and blood began to fall from a point near his forehead, Carroll struggling to turn himself over.

“Please, listen…” Carroll begged, staring up at the vengeful girls in front of him. “I just did what he told me to do.” Carroll forced out, pained tears prickling at his eyes as he truly began to fear for his life. He said she was sick!” Carroll directed to El.

“You had a choice, Ray.” Kali shook her head. “And you chose to follow a man you knew who was evil.” She spat.

“No, wait, no wait, wait!” Carroll begged, as El threw out her hand. “I can help you find him!”

El’s hand fell slowly. “What?” She demanded.

“Find who?” Kali interrogated.

“Brenner!” Carroll practically shouted. “I can take you to him.”

El clenched her fists slightly and stepped forward. “Brenner is _dead._ ” That much she was sure of. John had said the Demogorgon had attacked Brenner with the rest of his soldiers.

“No.” Carroll shook his head. “He is alive.

Kali narrowed her eyes. “Do not lie to us, Ray.”

“I’m not lying.” Carroll insisted. “I swear… He trusts me. I’ll take you to him.” He began to choke up, and El found her breathing increasing as she tried to search the man.

He _was_ telling the truth. Brenner was alive. Or rather, Carroll believed Brenner was alive. And if that was correct, then the situation was bad. Brenner knew about El, and he knew about John.

“If he is alive, then Jane will find him. Just as she found you.” Kali stated with conviction. She turned to El. “Do it, Jane.”

El, spurred on by fear and Kali’s encouragement, reached out with her hand, and a much stronger invisible one wrapped around Carroll’s neck.

Carroll began to slide across the linoleum floor, gasping for breath as El stood menacingly above him.

She could feel it running through her. The fear, the pain… Mixed in it was El’s own satisfaction at watching this… monster gasping for breath, feeling the same helplessness her mother felt in her final lucid moments.

“Don’t be too quick.” Kali sinisterly stated. “He wasn’t with your mother.”

El’s hand loosened slightly, not enough to stop, but enough to prolong the process. Carroll’s eyes flickered over to something, and El found her own gaze following, landing on a cracked picture frame next to him. It had been knocked off the wall when Carroll was thrown against it, and El paused.

There were two girls in the picture with him. What was odd was that neither of them looked scared. Quite the opposite, it seemed, all three of them were beaming widely.

Even she could see the resemblance between them. And El began to think. What if it was John?

What if a… Covenant (that was the term, wasn’t it?) found its way back to Earth and hunted down John? Killed him, even. El would be left without her dad, Cortana would be left without her best friend, and the universe would get just a little bit darker.

She supposed, in some sort of twisted way, it was similar with Carroll. His children had likely never seen that side of him, had only known him as a loving father… only to have it torn down in a whirlwind of fear and hate.

“What’s wrong?” Kali demanded of El as Carroll began to take in big gulps of air. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ve got a problem.” Axel came running around the corner.

“Kids in the apartment.” Dottie pointed.

El’s eyes widened fearfully. She thought she was going after a monster, a sadistic man with no one who cared about him, not a father begging for his life.

What was she doing?

“Did he show your mother mercy?” Kali rhetorically asked of El, trying to spur her back into the course of action. “No. He took her from you, without hesitation.”

“We got to go, K, they called the cops!” Axel yelled.

“We finish this first.” Kali spat back. “Jane, now!”

“No.” El stated.

Kali narrowed her eyes, and pulled a gun from its holster, pointing it down at Carroll. El cocked her head to the side, and the gun went flying out the window, going off as it landed outside.

“I said no.” El repeated with resolve, as police sirens began to grow louder as the cops approached.

“Kali, we gotta go!” Axel yelled, as the others began to move towards the door.

Kali shot one last look at El, before they went to go join the others, running out into the darkened parking lot. The gang ran around the side of the building to the waiting van.

Piling in frantically, the van’s tires screeched, and the group vanished into the distance, leaving nothing behind as the police descended upon Carroll’s apartment.


	25. We're All Going to Chicago! Part Nine

The Impala and the Blazer pulled up outside of Ray Carroll’s apartment block in Lilburn, John, Cortana, and Hopper getting out of the vehicles to survey the area.

They had heard the police chatter, talking about the gang attack, and naturally decided to investigate. The police cars that had once been there to respond to the scene had long gone, leaving only the residents of the place.

“I don’t understand.” Cortana looked up at the apartment where the incident took place with a furrowed brow. “First a gas station, now some random man’s home? This isn’t usual gang activity.”

“No, it isn’t.” John agreed. “It doesn’t make sense. We should ask around, see what we can piece together.”

“We’re probably not authorized to take part in this investigation, you know that, right?” Hopper asked of John, as the three of them approached the stairs up to the apartment in question.

“Yes.” Was all that John had replied with, raising his fist to knock on the door.

The door swung open, revealing the anxious face of Ray Carroll.

“Oh.” The man said, upon seeing Hopper. “Another cop. I’m sorry, I told you all everything I know already.”

“We’re with another investigation.” Cortana explained away for the man. “We think the same gang that attacked you is…” She searched for a good excuse. “Connected to other attacks.”

“Oh, well, I’m glad to help, but wouldn’t you be sent you everything you need beforehand?” Carroll questioned.

“Bureaucracy.” Cortana retorted. “You know how it is. All we need is a couple of questions. You don’t even need to let us in.”

Carroll nodded slowly, obviously comforted by that. “I’ll try to help, but… I’ve told the others everything already.”

“Repetition helps.” John stated. “First, how many people were there?”

“Five.” Carroll answered. “Maybe a sixth driving. I heard tires screeching.”

“Okay, that lines up.” Cortana noted. “Did you get a look at their faces?”

“They were all wearing masks, but…” Carroll swallowed. “Two of them took theirs off.”

Cortana inhaled. “And?”

“One of them was girl, a teenager. White, brown hair…” Carroll described. “She wasn’t dressed like the rest of them, except for the mask.”

John looked to Cortana. “El.”

“The other…” Carroll swallowed again. “She was older. Indian-looking, and British.”

“British?” Cortana repeated. “You don’t see too many of them in these parts. What did they want?”

“They… They were stealing from me.” Carroll answered, though it looked to John’s trained eye that he was hiding something. “They were going to kill me.”

“Did you hear any names?” Hopper requested.

Carroll nodded. “One of them called the British one Kali.”

Cortana nodded slowly, “I see. Well, thank you for your time.” She turned to the others. “Come on, we have to get moving.”

She took charge back down the stairs, John and Hopper trailing behind in slight confusion, as Ray Carroll looked on in bemusement at the shortest questioning he had ever taken part in.

“What’s the problem?” Hopper inquired, as they rushed back to their vehicles.

“No problem.” Cortana answered. “In fact, I have everything I need.” Cortana snapped her fingers, launching into a Holmesian style deduction-monologue. “Given the items pilfered from the gas station, they weren’t intending to head far. That’s why they came here, Carroll wasn’t a random victim, he was a target. Of course, since they failed to get their target, they’re likely heading back to their base of operations. The group size means it would be uncomfortable to ride in a single vehicle for an extended period of time, which means that the base is relatively nearby, most likely in Chicago. Knowing all of that, plus the single name Carroll was able to give us, we’re likely dealing with Kali Prasad’s gang.”

“You’re scary, you know that?” Hopper rhetorically asked.

John raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

“Kali Prasad.” Cortana repeated. “Convicted for twenty murders, two attempted murders, three-hundred-ninety robberies, and seventy-two hit-and-runs over a crime spree that lasted from 1982 to 1996, mainly in the Chicago area. She and the rest of her gang were caught trying to murder a former CIA operative, and were executed on November 15, 2001.”

“Any idea where they are now?” John questioned.

“Sure, an abandoned warehouse in Chicago.” Cortana answered, moving to enter the Impala. “It actually became quite the tourist trap after they were caught. I know the way.”

John and Hopper nodded, getting into the vehicles, and threw them into drive, speeding back towards Chicago.


	26. We're all Going to Chicago! Part Ten

John slammed on the brakes of the Impala, the car coming to a screeching halt outside of a run-down warehouse near the edge of the city.

“Is this the place?” John questioned, as Hopper’s Blazer pulled up next to them.

“It’s certainly different… but yes.” Cortana answered. “And look.” She pointed to a Chevy Van tucked away around the side, barely concealed under a tarp. “There’s their getaway vehicle. If they’ve hurt El…” Cortana clenched her fists.

“Come on.” John directed, moving to exit the car. “Let’s not keep her waiting.”

Cortana nodded, and stepped out of the car as well, Hopper exiting his own vehicle to follow.

“These are violent criminals, you know that, right?” Cortana asked of John s they headed towards the nearest entrance. “Three total strangers entering their hideout are not likely to be welcomed warmly.”

“Relax.” John tried to calm her. To sate her nerves, he reached into his jacket, and pulled out his M6D, showing off to her in what he hoped would be a comforting manner. “Besides, I’d be hard pressed to find someone who can beat me in a fair fight.”

“You’re humble.” Hopper sarcastically mumbled, as they approached the door. “We go in loud or quiet?” He asked of John, reaching for his own gun.

John chambered a round into his gun. “Let’s make some noise.”

Hopper nodded and threw the door open, the object clanging loudly as it hit the wall. “Knock knock!” He yelled, as John shot off a round into the air.

Five people, who were sat around at a wooden spool (using it as a makeshift table) shot up and began reaching to their sides.

John was quicker on the draw, pointing his gun at the group. “Don’t even try it.”

“Great, cops…” Mohawk gritted. “Fuckin’ beautiful.”

“Oh, we’re not cops.” Cortana narrowed her eyes, and crossed her arms, making her displeasure clear. “Well, he is,” She gestured to Hopper, “But us? We’re your worst nightmare.”

“Hm. That supposed to sound tough?” The big black man asked rhetorically.

“No.” Cortana answered. “It’s a promise.”

“What, we’re supposed to be scared of you?” The dumb blonde tried her luck.

Cortana clenched her fists. “You led us on a wild goose chase across the state, terrorized an innocent man, oh, and did I neglect to mention _, I’m looking for my daughter.”_

“Relax…” The british woman held up her hands placatingly, trying to approach. “We haven’t seen your daughter. Who is she?”

“I think you know the answer to that, Miss Prasad.” Cortana spat, and all traces of bravado left Kali’s face.

Kali stared at the three of them, before her eyes narrowed, and flashed dangerously. In an instant, the space around Cortana began to crumble away, as green, fleshy tentacles probed into the building.

Cortana looked upon them with fear, as a sinister cackling began to ring out around her.

“No…” Cortana shook in terror. “Please, God, no…” She whimpered, as the Gravemind began to coil around her.

“Sarah?” Hopper asked, though Cortana was too deep in her own illusion to register it.

John looked upon his companions with concern, before whipping back to face Kali, leveling the gun at her. “What are you doing to them?” John demanded, raising his pistol. “Answer me!”

“You…” Kali tilted her head. “You’re different. What are you afraid of?”

“Nothing you could conjure up.” John retorted, keeping his gun trained on her. Her words, and the reactions of Cortana and Hopper, began to enter into his mind. “So, you’re showing them their fears?” He rhetorically asked, as he could feel an outside presence intruding into his mind. If she was showing the others their fears, then it was likely she was trying to search him to find what he was afraid of. Then, he began to think.

A connection like that would have to go both ways, right? To show him his own fears, Kali would have to see them for herself first. In the case of Cortana and Hopper, it was likely that she only got enough to build the illusion off of. But perhaps, instead of trying to fight it, John could use it to his advantage.

John narrowed his eyes and began to think. Of the alien armadas burning entire planets before him. Of those same armadas falling to the assault of one single man. The countless missions he had been on and succeeded at. And every last one of the thousands of kills, human and Covenant, he had made.

As he found himself in the memories, John began to worry that it hadn’t worked, that he was only giving her material to work with. That is, until Kali’s eyes widened fearfully, and she staggered back.

“What are you?” Kali breathed, as the members of her gang went to her side to check on her.

“Like the lady said.” John began, chambering another round. “Your worst nightmare. Now, I’m going to ask you this once. _Where is my daughter?”_

“John?” El’s voice suddenly came from across the warehouse. She was standing on the metal staircase, looking on the scene in confusion.

“El.” John sighed in relief.

Cortana, hearing El’s voice and John’s reaction, snapped out of her own illusion, and looked on at El tearfully as she came walking down the stairs. Cortana ran across the warehouse, wrapping El into a big hug.

“You’re alright… You’re alright…” Cortana whispered, clutching onto El tightly. “My baby…”

El tilted her head in confusion. “I’m not a baby.”

“It’s an expression.“ Cortana answered, smiling slightly. Then, she released El from the hug, and smacked her gently on the shoulder. “What the _hell_ were you thinking running off like that!?”

Tears began to fall from El’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be gone for long. I wasn’t…”

“Shh, shh…” Cortana whispered, clutching onto El gently. “It’s okay… We’re here now. Now, first thing’s first…” Cortana turned to Kali’s gang. “Who the hell are you people?”


	27. We're All Going to Chicago! Part Eleven

“We were so worried about you…” Cortana whispered to El, cradling the girl in her arms gently. “You just up and disappearing like that...”

“I’m sorry…” El apologized. “But I saw Kali, and… I couldn’t just leave knowing she was here. She’s like me.”

“I know.” Cortana told her. “I know. But you should’ve told us. I don’t know what I’d do if I’d lost you.”

El nodded absently. “So… what do we do now?”

“Well…” Cortana leaned back. “You say goodbye to your friends, and we all go home.”

“Do we… have to go now?”

“No, sweetie.” Cortana told her. “Not unless you want to, but… It was a very bad thing Kali roped you into. I don’t care what she said to try and justify it to you, but it was _wrong.”_

El looked down. “I know… She was going to kill him. She was going to _make_ _me_ kill him.” El began to sniffle. “Like… papa. Mom?”

“Yeah, El?” Cortana softly responded.

“I want to go home.” El stated.

“Then we can do just that.” Cortana replied, helping El up, holding onto her the whole time.

****

John didn’t like these people. They were criminals, undisciplined, and above all disrespectful. He just about crushed mohawk’s (John didn’t respect the group enough to familiarize himself with their names) windpipe when the man tried to insinuate that John’s relationship with El was anything but fatherly.

But most of all, he didn’t like Kali. Manipulating an emotionally vulnerable, damaged girl was a big ‘no’ in John’s books, not matter what cause Kali claimed to perpetuate. And it was obvious Kali disliked John as well, if the looks she continually shot him were of any indication.

The woman tried to intimidate John with a Hunter. He swatted away the illusion like a fly. The exchange continued as such for some time. Kali would try to use an illusion on John, and the SPARTAN would disregard it completely. Poor Hopper wasn’t as resilient, and had to go out to his vehicle after the second illusion Kali hit him with left the police officer a jabbering mess, spluttering something about a ‘Sarah.’ Whoever that was.

Eventually, John found himself relieved when Cortana and El emerged from the loft in the warehouse, coming down the metal stairs.

“John,” Cortana addressed him, “I think it’s time for us to all go home.”

The SPARTAN nodded, and reached for his keys.

“That’s it?” Kali rhetorically asked of El. “You’re leaving?”

“They’re my parents.” El answered. “I have to go with them.”

“Jane,” Kali stepped forward, “Think about this. Carroll was not the only man from that lab. There are dozens more out there, waiting, hiding. They will come after you eventually.”

“Step back.” John calmly ordered.

Kali ignored him. “I was like you once. That’s why I was so hard on you… I see my own failures in you. When I got out of that place, I ran so far… looking for a place to hide. I was so scared, and they just kept looking for me. All I wanted was for it to end. And then I found a place to hide. A family. A home. But the men were still hunting for me, and the people I found, they couldn’t help me. The only way the men would stop was if I made them stop.”

“Get away.” John forcefully repeated.

“Listen to me, Jane.” Kali continued ignoring him, stepping close to El. “If you stay with these two… you will never find the peace you want. These people can’t help you. But I can.” Kali stated. “Stay here. With me. We can find Brenner, and end him, for good.”

“Brenner is dead.” El and John both said in unison.

“That man tonight disagreed.” A voice suddenly came from behind El, John, and Cortana. The three whipped around, seeing the aging man standing there, perfectly fine.

“Another illusion.” John clenched his fists. He turned to Kali, fixing her with a scathing look. “Get rid of it. _Now.”_

“You’re not real…” El shook fearfully, going to John’s side.

“All this time…” The Illusion said, stepping close. “And you never looked for me? Why?” The Illusion titled his head. “Because I was dead? Or because you were afraid of what you would find?”

“You are dead.” El stated with finality. “John said so.”

“Ah, yes, this… soldier from the future.” The Illusion examined John like a sample under a microscope. “Why do you trust him so much? Because you think he is like you? Perhaps. Or is it because you believe him to be a good man? He is not.” The Illusion stepped closer. “He has ended more lives than any one being could ever count… And yet, he is the reason you hesitated tonight? Quite the contradiction, don’t you think?”

“I’ve ended lives.” John granted, more for El’s benefit than his own. “But I never enjoyed it. And I don’t expect to be heralded for it.”

El, still clutching tightly onto John, held strong. “Go away.”

The Illusion’s head snapped to her. “You have to confront your pain.” It stepped closer. “You have a wound, Eleven-“

“Don’t you dare-“ Cortana stepped closer to Kali, freezing as her gang moved to surround her.

“A terrible wound.” The Illusion continued, still closing the distance as El flinched back. “And it’s festering.”

El began to sniffle, as she was confronted with the face of her long-time tormenter.

“Stop this.” John demanded of Kali. “Or I will end you all right now.”

“Do you know what that means?” The Illusion tilted its head. “Festering?” The Illusion tried to get down to El’s level, and John would’ve put his boot through the Illusion’s head, if it were tangible. “It means rot. And it will grow. Spread.” El closed her eyes and began to try to force the voice out.

“Get out of my head.” El whispered.

“And it will grow.” The Illusion continued.

“You heard her.” John clenched his fists.

“And eventually…” The Illusion tilted its head. “You will die.”

El began to shake. Not out of fear, but of fury, at the one who claimed to be her friend assaulting her mind with the image of the man she hated the most.

“Get out of my head!” El screamed. The Illusion snapped out of reality as the lights flickered, and Kali went flying across the room.

The members of her gang went for their weapons, but John was expectedly faster on the draw, pointing his magnum at each one of them.

“Don’t try it.” John spat.

“I’m sorry, Kali.” El looked to Kali apologetically, as the woman tried to get up. She turned to John. “Let’s go home, dad.”

John nodded, El and Cortana leaving the building first, leaving behind them. Hopper was already gone, likely already on his way back to Hawkins, and the three of them got into the new car, driving off into the distance, leaving Chicago behind.

****

“John?” El suddenly spoke up from the back seat of the car. They were still about an hour out from Hawkins, and Cortana was in the passenger seat, fast asleep.

“Yes?” John was still focused on the road.

“Do you think…” El swallowed. “Do you think Brenner is still alive?”

John sighed. “I don’t know. The Demogorgon attacked him, but… There have been people who have survived worse things. It’s possible.”

El forced back a choked sob. “If he is… What if he comes after me?”

“That’s not going to happen.” John resolved, looking at her in the rearview mirror.

“But-“

“El…” John cut her off gently. “I’ll protect you.”

El smiled. “Thank you… dad.”

“No need to thank me.” John stated. “That’s what parents do.”

“Speaking of parents…” Cortana suddenly opened her eyes, wide awake.

“Were you just sitting there and listening?” John inquired.

“Yes.” Cortana answered. “We need to talk, John.”


	28. The Mother

Cortana stared blankly at the little plastic stick in her hands. There was a part of her that hoped her suspicions were wrong, because if they were, it meant that it was just a funny little mistake, that she didn’t have to worry about for the foreseeable future. Cortana prayed to herself, to whatever deity that was listening that she was wrong, that it was all some trick of the light.

Still, a little blue plus stayed emblazoned on the plastic, and Cortana swallowed nervously.

Missed periods, fatigue, a slight feeling of bloatedness, odd cravings, and now this… It was official now.

Truth be told, she didn’t know what she should’ve been feeling in that moment. It was as if one minute, things were fine, dandy, and carefree. And now all she could think about were the responsibilities to come.

Cortana took a shaky breath, and emerged from the bathroom, discarding the test in the trash can on the way out.

John was leaned against the wall next to the door, awaiting her emergence. “So?” John inquired.

Cortana nodded shakily. “I’m…” She swallowed and tried to smile. “I’m pregnant.”

“That’s…” John began. “That’s great.”

“Sure, that’s certainly one word for it…” Then, like a dam bursting, Cortana began to cry.

“Hey,” John placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, “What’s wrong?”

“I should be happy.” Cortana replied. “Everyone says that being a mother is a great gift, and that a woman should be happy to find out she’s pregnant… I’m not happy. I’m terrified out of my Goddamn mind.”

“Fear is a perfectly natural response.” John told her, feeling the exact same thing himself. “But don’t worry, we’ll get through this. Together.”

“You say that, but us being together is what got us into this mess in the first place.” Cortana retorted, trying to inject some humor into the situation. “…I don’t know if I’m ready to be a mother.”

“You already are.” John gently reminded her. “To El.”

“Yeah, but she came to us already grown, remember?” Cortana replied. “And it’s not just the normal fears of becoming a mother that apply here, John.”

“What do you mean?”

“My body was grown by the Primordial.” Cortana reminded the SPARTAN. “What if the baby is born connected to it like Will was, or the baby has two hearts, or no hearts, or no head, or-“

“Cortana.” John tried to keep her as calm as he could. “Constantly proposing the worst-case ‘what-if’ scenarios to yourself is only going to make it worse.”

“I’m sorry,” She apologized, “It’s just… There’s been no one like me in the history of the human race. There are a lot of potential things to go wrong.”

“Like two hearts?” John repeated.

“Don’t make fun of me for that, it’s a genuine fear.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” John apologized. “So…”

“So…” Cortana nodded. “We’re going to have to start preparing for this. We’re going to have to get a crib, baby clothes, baby toys, baby books, anything with the word baby in-“

“Cortana, you’re rambling again.” John cut her off again.

“Sorry.” She flinched.

Catching Cortana’s blank stare into space, John tried to think of another thing to say. “You know you don’t have to go through with this, we could always-“

Cortana’s expression twisted into anger. “So help me God, John, if the next word out of your mouth is ‘abort-‘”

“I was going to say put it up for adoption.”

“Right…” She nodded absently. “Right… But, you know, if we did that… We’d be robbing El of potentially one of the best experiences of her life.”

“Which would be?”

“Being a big sister.” Cortana smiled. It fell once she realized something. “Oh, hell.”

“What is it?”

“We’re going to have to tell her.”

“…onetwothreenotit!”

“Damn it, John!”


End file.
